disunity

American  

[dis-yoo-ni-tee] / dɪsˈyu nɪ ti /

noun

plural

disunities

1. lack of unity or accord.

---

disunity British  

/ dɪsˈjuːnɪtɪ /

noun

1. dissension or disagreement

---

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

For many Russians, disagreement signals not free thought but chaotic disunity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Speaking on Saturday, Corbyn said: "As a party, we've got to come together and be united, because division and disunity will not serve the interests of the people that we want to represent."

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025

So there was unity, disunity, people scared, all of those things.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2024

Our efforts to find a comfortable medium between consensus and compromise — to forge unity from disunity — are guided in principle by majority rule: the many over the few.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2024

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