disqualify
Americanverb (used with object)
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disqualifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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disqualified,
past participle, past
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disqualifying
present participle
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to deprive of qualification or fitness; render unfit; incapacitate.
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to deprive of legal, official, or other rights or privileges; declare ineligible or unqualified.
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Sports. to deprive of the right to participate in or win a contest because of a violation of the rules.
verb
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to make unfit or unqualified
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to make ineligible, as for entry to an examination
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to debar (a player or team) from a sporting contest
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to divest or deprive of rights, powers, or privileges
disqualified from driving
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disqualificationnoun
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disqualifiernoun
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disqualifiableadjective
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nondisqualifyingadjective
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undisqualifiableadjective
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undisqualifiedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disqualifysimple
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disqualifiessimple
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have disqualifiedperfect
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has disqualifiedperfect
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am disqualifyingprogressive
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are disqualifyingprogressive
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is disqualifyingprogressive
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have been disqualifyingperfect progressive
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has been disqualifyingperfect progressive
Past
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disqualifiedsimple
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had disqualifiedperfect
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was disqualifyingprogressive
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were disqualifyingprogressive
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had been disqualifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disqualify
Explanation
To disqualify someone is to not allow them to participate, or to make them unfit for participation. Turning eleven would disqualify a person from playing on a soccer team for kids ten and under. Judges will disqualify a marathon runner if they discover she's actually wearing roller skates, and a baseball player's age may disqualify him from playing on a certain team. Being blind disqualifies people from driving, and a criminal history can disqualify someone from working at a school. Disqualify adds the "do the opposite of" prefix dis- to qualify, which comes from the medieval Latin root qualificare, "to attribute a quality to."
Vocabulary lists containing disqualify
Power Prefix: dis-
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dis-
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"Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner
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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:
They must submit to regular FAA-mandated medical exams, and ailments such as cardiac conditions or diabetes could permanently disqualify them from flying far earlier than age 65.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Unauthorized distributions can disqualify a plan, causing severe financial consequences, including immediate income taxes and any applicable penalties for employees on their vested balances.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
The federal public defender’s office in L.A. had asked the judge to disqualify Essayli from participating in and supervising criminal prosecutions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Whenever we find out that there's something dubious or fishy about a couple, we disqualify them," he tells the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
This had better work, because if it doesn’t, Ranger Alford made it clear she’ll disqualify us.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
The conviction disqualifies her from continuing on the bench under Wisconsin law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Nothing you do or say, no matter how bizarre, illegal, grotesque or insufferably stupid as it may be disqualifies you.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2024
The justices were asked to decide whether just one type of criminal history disqualifies a person from a lighter sentence, or whether all three must be present for a disqualification.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
It also largely disqualifies Door of Hope from federal funding that has been withdrawn from the transitional model, forcing the agency to raise its own funds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
Another otherwise suitable candidate that disqualifies itself for equally obvious reasons is the African buffalo.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Hall was also disqualified from driving for 12 months even though he did not have a licence at the time of the incident, and he was ordered to pay £272 costs.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Seabright previously disqualified Essayli as acting U.S. attorney in October, finding he was “not lawfully serving” in the top role.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
District Judge J. Michael Seabright disqualified Essayli as acting U.S. attorney last October, finding he was “not lawfully serving” in the top role.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The cattle's owner had been disqualified from keeping animals for life after being found guilty of a number of animal welfare offences in May.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
According to concepts common to all people, he has completely disqualified himself.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
He'd always wanted to join the military like his grandfather and older brothers but unfortunately has a disqualifying heart condition.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
It means treating Jew-hatred as disqualifying wherever it appears, especially on your own side.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
It too is discretionary, but is designed to provide for a beneficiary with a disability without disqualifying them from government benefits such as Medicaid or Social Security Disability Insurance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
The Epstein files revealed a network that was hidden, vast and tied to clearly disqualifying conduct.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
Joey did end up writing his own name on his vote, but then crossed it out, disqualifying himself altogether.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
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.
