displease
Americanverb (used with object)
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displeases,
present (3rd person singular)
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displeased,
past participle, past
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displeasing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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displeases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
displeased,
past participle, past
-
displeasing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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displeasesimple
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displeasessimple
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have displeasedperfect
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has displeasedperfect
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am displeasingprogressive
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are displeasingprogressive
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is displeasingprogressive
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have been displeasingperfect progressive
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has been displeasingperfect progressive
Past
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displeasedsimple
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had displeasedperfect
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was displeasingprogressive
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were displeasingprogressive
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had been displeasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of displease
1300–50; Middle English desplesen < Anglo-French, Middle French desplaisir. See dis- 1, please
Explanation
When you displease someone, you disappoint them or make them unhappy. Your dog's loud barking at 5 AM is sure to displease your neighbors. The prefix dis- is often used to signify the opposite of something, and displease is no exception: it means to do the opposite of pleasing someone. Your terrible grades will displease your parents and your teachers, not to mention you, and being served your least favorite foods at your birthday dinner will also displease you. Please has a Latin root, placere, "be acceptable, be liked, or be approved."
Vocabulary lists containing displease
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:
That would certainly displease, even enrage, Mr. Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
This change may displease some, but for those being vigilant about their health and would like more transparency about the food they are eating, it's a welcome change.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2023
“I had the honor of knowing a hierarch who did not hesitate to directly express his opinion, regardless of whether this would displease his interlocutor or even a section of society,” Anastasiades said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2022
But a spokesman did point out that it does not exist to satisfy the F1 teams, and that every decision it makes in the sport is likely to displease someone.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2021
The way Julian had done the inviting, I didn't know who else was coming—although I strongly suspected that Nadia Diamondstein would be, and that thought did not displease me.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
"I am alive. Thank you, God. I live and I want to live and I'll continue living, no matter how much that displeases those who want to destroy us," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
The rest of NIH’s 27 institutes and centers would stay at current budget levels, a status quo that displeases advocates for biomedical research.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 9, 2023
He is the domineering interloper intent on telling the industry all the ways in which it displeases him.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 11, 2022
She is a good talker and generous with her laughter – until a question displeases her.
From The Guardian ● May 12, 2020
Some distance separated the bulls from each other, for they are bad-tempered, very jealous by nature and quick to fight over anything that displeases them.
From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell
There were many in the Ottoman camp who would not have been displeased to see him fail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
So I’d like each of them to name an issue where, for the good of the state, they’re willing to take on their friends and allies, knowing they’ll be displeased.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Long-term Xbox fans were also displeased when it announced it would begin to publish formerly exclusive titles on other consoles.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
Investors have been displeased with the iPhone maker’s slow progress in the AI space and its lackluster Apple Intelligence offering.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
The boys got the distinct feeling that if they didn't have questions, he would be most displeased.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
Boasberg would later rule that prosecutors had “offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the president.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
District Court for the District of Columbia agreed; he quashed the subpoenas and said the government had offered no evidence that Powell committed any crime “other than displeasing the president.”
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
"My wife sends her regards, thank you for the pudding rice. She sends your fiancé this sweater and hopes that it is not displeasing to her," it reads.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2024
Having a well-stocked refrigerator filled with rotting foods is incredibly wasteful and displeasing, to say the least.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
“Yes, I denied knowing him. I was afraid”— again I choose my words carefully—“of displeasing El Jefe.”
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
