disunity

American  

[dis-yoo-ni-tee] / dɪsˈju nɪ ti /

noun

disunities plural

1. lack of unity or accord.

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disunity British  

/ dɪsˈjuːnɪtɪ /

noun

1. dissension or disagreement

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• disunities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of disunity

First recorded in 1625–35; dis- ¹ + unity

Explanation

Disunity is a state of disagreement and conflict in a group of people. If you and your siblings are bickering loudly about who gets to sit in the front seat of the car, that's a good example of disunity. When people experience disunity, they just can't get along — in other words, they're not united. Unity, "the state of being one," comes from the Latin unitatem, "oneness, sameness, or agreement." Adding the prefix dis-, "not, or lack of," gives you the exact opposite. The disunity of a country can be seen in bitter political rhetoric, and your book group shows disunity when the members argue incessantly over what to read next.

Example Sentences

So does the fact that some players went rogue undermine Tuchel's authority or suggest some kind of disunity?

From BBC • May 22, 2026

The move further weakens the cartel, which was already under pressure amid internal disunity and the rise of American oil output.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

He added that if he and Crofts had known the song “was going to cause such disunity, we might have thought twice about doing it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Whether selfless unity can overcome a history of selfish disunity — actualized in the face of a common “threat” from within — will be the question of the day.

From Salon • Jan. 12, 2025

China’s apparent linguistic near-unity is also puzzling in view of the linguistic disunity of other long-settled parts of the world.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• discord
• dissension
• divergence