disqualify
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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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"Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner
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Because They Marched
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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.
RMDs can push you into a higher tax bracket, disqualify you from income-sensitive deductions and credits, and trigger higher Medicare premiums.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
That means it can disqualify some immigrants with valid work permits.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Should you instantly disqualify anyone with a blemish on their record?
From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025
Referee Jason Herzog elected to call the fight a no-contest, rather than disqualify Gane, 35, for the foul.
From BBC • Nov. 30, 2025
“You may begin the test as soon as you receive it,” said the pencil woman, turning away at last, and Reynie resisted the urge to sigh with relief—even a sigh might disqualify him.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
