displease
Americanverb (used with object)
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displeases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
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:
The capacity of policymakers to make decisions that might displease the government is under increasing threat, the head of the European Central Bank said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
They do not want to be overly dependent on Chinese supplies, but they cannot afford to displease the Chinese government.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2023
Mr Mitsotakis said the decision had "tortured" him but he felt a "heavy responsibility in standing next to those most vulnerable, even if it might fleetingly displease them".
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2021
Independent filmmakers, she said, are “not going to compromise and will show the truth” – and hence displease the Taliban.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2021
“I must go to meet with the other shamans. It is time to find out what we have done to displease the spirits. The paqos must join powers to talk with the other world.”
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
"We showed it with Gabriella, we showed it again with Laurence. But it displeases some people, obviously. It's competition, it's natural. But it's true that it was more complicated than we thought."
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 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
“But traditionally with royals throughout history, if anyone displeases them, they are out. As Prince Philip always, always said: ‘It’s not about the individual.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
Nozinja adopts a Caesar-like position as he inspects the dancers, occasionally tutting in disgust when someone displeases him or yelping with pleasure and elbowing me in the ribs if someone nails a routine.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 5, 2013
“Your tone displeases me! The girl and her friends were foolhardy in the extreme. Thieving from the headmaster!”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
As for this year’s slate, the range was typically broad, and the choices seem to have left no one displeased, with a number of festivalgoers insisting the programming was the most satisfying they could recall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 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
Investors have been especially displeased with the botched rollout of Apple Intelligence, which was first announced in 2024 but has been continuously delayed.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
But online reviews left by an overwhelming number of displeased customers say otherwise.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2025
I climbed into the rickshaw with my mother in it, which displeased Amah, because this was presumptuous behavior on my part and also because Amah loved me better than her own.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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
He wrote about her in his postcards home, displeasing his moralistic parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 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
“So you thought you might be displeasing El Jefe by admitting to a friendship with Virgilio Morales?”
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.
