disapproval
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disapproval
Explanation
Disapproval is what you express when you share your dislike or opposition. If you fail a class, you might worry both about your grade point average and also your parents' disapproval. When you sense disapproval in your teacher's voice after you show her a draft of your research paper, you might want to start over. You might feel disapproval yourself when you see your friend spend money instead of saving it, or watch your dad feel the dog from his plate at the dinner table. Disapproval uses the "opposite of" prefix dis- with approval, from its Latin root approbare, "to regard as good."
Vocabulary lists containing disapproval
Power Prefix: dis-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She stopped in the middle of the woods during a walk, looked with disapproval at my light jacket, and threw her hands up in mock confusion, surveying the snow-encrusted pines.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Western disapproval isn’t going to hamper an organization this large and potent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
The billionaire investor, who worked with the treasury secretary at Soros Fund Management, voiced his disapproval of Bessent’s tactics in a strongly-worded oped published in the Wall Street Journal Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Addressing victims, he added that the conviction would "provide some measure of society's acknowledgement and disapproval of what was done to you".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Before I could voice my disapproval, we were interrupted.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
