disadvantage
Americannoun
-
disadvantages
plural
-
absence or deprivation of advantage or equality.
- Synonyms:
- hindrance, inconvenience, drawback
-
the state or an instance of being in an unfavorable circumstance or condition.
to be at a disadvantage.
-
something that puts one in an unfavorable position or condition.
His bad temper is a disadvantage.
-
injury to interest, reputation, credit, profit, etc.; loss.
Your behavior is a disadvantage to your family's good name.
verb (used with object)
-
disadvantages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disadvantaged,
past participle, past
-
disadvantaging
present participle
noun
-
an unfavourable circumstance, state of affairs, thing, person, etc
-
injury, loss, or detriment
-
an unfavourable condition or situation (esp in the phrase at a disadvantage )
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disadvantagesimple
-
disadvantagessimple
-
have disadvantagedperfect
-
has disadvantagedperfect
-
am disadvantagingprogressive
-
are disadvantagingprogressive
-
is disadvantagingprogressive
-
have been disadvantagingperfect progressive
-
has been disadvantagingperfect progressive
Past
-
disadvantagedsimple
-
had disadvantagedperfect
-
was disadvantagingprogressive
-
were disadvantagingprogressive
-
had been disadvantagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disadvantage
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English disavauntage, from Anglo-French; Old French desavantage; equivalent to dis- 1 + advantage
Explanation
A piece of bad luck or a less favorable position is a disadvantage. If you are trying to run a fifty-yard dash in flip flops when everyone else has on running shoes, you'll be at a disadvantage. It's harder to be successful when you start with a disadvantage. One kind of disadvantage is being born into a poor family — it's a struggle for a child in poverty to do well in school, attend college, or end up with a well-paying job. A disadvantage is the opposite of an advantage, a lucky or favorable circumstance. At the root of both words is the Old French avant, "at the front."
Vocabulary lists containing disadvantage
STAAR Grade 6 Reading: Informational Text
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Lesson 1
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Week 5: New Technology
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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:
The U.S. competes at a disadvantage because it has no federal film and TV incentives, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
"We're put at a great disadvantage compared to other students coming into Maths teaching," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Compared to other students, Rhian McCrory says they are at a "great disadvantage"
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The station groups say the ability of tech companies such as Google and Netflix to reach every consumer in the U.S. puts them at a disadvantage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Briony felt the disadvantage of being two years younger than the other girl, of having a full two years' refinement weigh against her, and now her play seemed a miserable, embarrassing thing.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Are there tax advantages or disadvantages to leaving my assets directly to charities?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
In theory, natural selection might be expected to gradually remove traits that produce such disadvantages.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
Zuckerberg also wrote that one of the U.S.’s current disadvantages in its race against China to develop superintelligent computer systems is the difficulty of building infrastructure stateside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
With more than half of his investments in tech, George Lee, who recently graduated, says he is well aware of the lack of resources and other disadvantages that ordinary traders can face.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The tip would be discussed, as would the disadvantages of living in this particular neighborhood.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
In Gamper's view, women should not be financially disadvantaged because of their anatomy or because they need cubicles for safety reasons, for example.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Cambridge said his hiring would help address underrepresentation of people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
A spokesperson for the DfE said a new PE Partnership Network would help close the gap seen by disadvantaged children.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
People may also make donations of back to school packs for disadvantaged families.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
I gave myself all the reasons people ever give to explain why they do not work among the disadvantaged.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
He also argued that ranking applicants by SAT scores ends up disadvantaging high-achieving low-income, first-generation and underrepresented minorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
This arrangement allows students at the top of the curve to distinguish themselves, while not disadvantaging the majority of those who earn a “P.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
Greer accused Brazil of disadvantaging American exports by offering lower tariffs to other trade partners.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2025
Like the others, the White House version suggests numerous practices that developers and users of AI software should voluntarily follow to prevent the technology from unfairly disadvantaging people.
From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2022
The NSA does train intelligence analysts on rules that prohibit the collection of intelligence for suppressing dissent or disadvantaging people based on their race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, and is reviewing ODNI’s recommendations.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2022
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.
