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
-
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
But given that PSG only won the league by one point last season, that appears to be a risky strategy and might displease fans.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
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
Bobby had behaved this way in his teen years, displaying unforgiving impatience toward any of his young followers who chanced, inadvertently, to displease him.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
"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
“We’re living in a society where it’s hard to be an individual. We have to always represent the universal citizen … someone who displeases nobody,” he said.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 8, 2019
There’s something else that displeases them: I no longer feel like giving them little kisses morning, noon and night.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Harpootlian heard rumblings that some of the jurors were displeased with Hill’s conduct and began to scour the back roads of Colleton County to track them down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 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
Microsoft Azure’s 39% cloud growth in the fourth quarter paled in comparison to Google Cloud’s 48% growth, and investors were displeased by Microsoft’s decision to allocate more computing power to internal projects.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
Madam had been watching us, no doubt displeased that Ruth was washing rocks with the tablecloths.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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
“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.
