dislike
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
Dislike, disgust, distaste, repugnance imply antipathy toward something. Dislike is a general word, sometimes connoting an inherent or permanent feeling of antipathy for something: to have a dislike for crowds. Disgust connotes a feeling of loathing for what is offensive to the feelings and sensibilities: He felt disgust at seeing such ostentation. Distaste implies a more or less settled dislike: to have distaste for spicy foods, for hard work. Repugnance is a strong feeling of aversion for, and antagonism toward, something: to feel repugnance for (or toward ) low criminals.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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predislikenoun
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self-dislikenoun
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dislikableadjective
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dislikeableadjective
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self-dislikedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dislikesimple
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dislikessimple
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have dislikedperfect
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has dislikedperfect
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am dislikingprogressive
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are dislikingprogressive
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is dislikingprogressive
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have been dislikingperfect progressive
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has been dislikingperfect progressive
Past
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dislikedsimple
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had dislikedperfect
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was dislikingprogressive
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were dislikingprogressive
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had been dislikingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dislike
Explanation
Put simply, to dislike can be used as a transitive verb that means to "not like." Maybe you dislike spinach. But it can also be a noun, as in "You seem to have developed quite a dislike for spinach." English being a language of trial-and-error, the word dislike came about in the mid-16th Century, as modern English was still in its infancy. At that time, some words were tried and discarded, to be replaced with others that stuck. That was the case with dislike, which developed after the word "mislike" was dropped as the opposite of "like." Speaking of prefixes, don't confuse the word dislike with "unlike," which means that something is different from something else.
Vocabulary lists containing dislike
Power Prefix: dis-
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dis-
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: 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.
See Examples For:
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is helping represent Prabhakar, argues that public colleges may establish curriculum requirements but cannot punish professors merely because administrators dislike ideas expressed in relevant course material.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
"I've heard that in some countries, people have been told natto is good for their health, so they force themselves to eat it even though they strongly dislike the taste," Noro said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
This was not the first game where boos have been at the hydration break, and the wave of dislike for them among fans appears to be gathering momentum.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
I imagine that dislike faded a long time ago, but did you train your voice for this album?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
He could not have said why his dislike of Ibni was so intense.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
James Piper, co-host of the Talking Rubbish podcast, co-owner of Ecosurety, said he dislikes BuzzBallz because of how difficult they are to recycle.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Maybe he just really dislikes the entire program and wasn’t targeting Haitians in particular.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
That personal agent will interface with travel suppliers’ AI agents—not a human to be heard or seen—and book trips for people from their front door and back, according to their known likes and dislikes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
“Because you can’t read its reactions, it’s impossible to sense what kind of shots it dislikes or struggles with, and that makes it even more difficult to play against,” Taira said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
So many young men get their likes and dislikes from Mencken.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
“I still don’t understand why they disliked it so much.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
"I was away from the war as such, and I disliked London, so going away into the country and being on a farm and handling animals appealed to me."
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
He reportedly disliked the constant and later referred to it as his "biggest blunder."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
Roosevelt disliked Woodruff and kept him at arm’s length, although he did allow Pinchot to hire Woodruff at the Agriculture Department.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
But Matthias disliked how well this low thief could read him.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
"People are increasingly disliking each other," says Prof Sander van der Linden, who researches social psychology at the University of Cambridge.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
When the bubble is big enough, it shifts the behavior of the market as a whole from disliking capital expenditure, and hating speculative capital spending in particular, to loving it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
Some readers confessed to never having seen the film whose soundtrack they love; others even reported disliking it.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2024
“It’s not a matter of liking or disliking dogs,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2023
Kendra smeared sunblock across her arms, disliking the greasy feel of the lotion against her skin.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
