distasteful
Americanadjective
-
unpleasant, offensive, or causing dislike.
a distasteful chore.
- Synonyms:
- repulsive, repugnant, disagreeable
-
unpleasant to the taste.
a distasteful medicine.
- Synonyms:
- unsavory, unpalatable
-
showing distaste or dislike.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distasteful
Explanation
Things that you find disagreeable or unpleasant are distasteful. A distasteful movie might disturb you so much that you leave the theater before it's over. While certain kinds of food might be distasteful to you — overcooked vegetables, for example — you can find non-edible things just as distasteful, despite the taste within the word. This adjective uses the sense of taste that means "preference" or "tendency to like something," along with the prefix dis-, "not" or "the opposite of." You can, for example, find things like greed and cruelty to be just as distasteful as overcooked broccoli.
Vocabulary lists containing distasteful
Power Suffix: -ful
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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The Bad Beginning
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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.
The Alexanders’ lawyers argued that while the brothers’ behavior could be distasteful and crude, it didn’t amount to a federal crime.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
The frontman took umbrage at Jackson presenting himself as a messianic figure, protecting hundreds of children, calling the display "distasteful and crap".
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
The State Bar hated the news conference, disciplining the duo for what they considered an act of unethical and distasteful advertising.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026
And when Hollywood trades posted on social media that the award for best original score was announced during a commercial break, the Globes felt all the more distasteful.
From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026
Some of them whistled, a sound that Amari found to be particularly distasteful.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
