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
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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 researchers say the scale of the demographic collapse has important implications for understanding intergenerational trauma, persistent disadvantage, and the development of policies that better support Indigenous communities.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Retailers without the capital to invest heavily through a long period of troubleshooting are at a disadvantage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
This could be a disadvantage for Apple and something that limits the potential of its Siri voice assistant, Mohan argued.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Inflammation was also strongly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and psychological distress.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
As it happened, the place they came ashore was quite near to Carthage and Juno began at once to consider how she could turn this arrival to their disadvantage and the advantage of the Carthaginians.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Hillman said there were advantages and disadvantages to being a commuter student.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The 2025 study also notes the cost and lack of residual protection as important disadvantages of whole structure fumigation.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Are there tax advantages or disadvantages to leaving my assets directly to charities?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 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
I was beginning to see that growing up knowing only one other person had some serious disadvantages.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
Jenner said despite changes in needs the charity's "purpose has remained the same, to ensure that children in the Bailiwick are not disadvantaged because they lack the essentials that every child deserves".
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Despite investment over the past decade to boost the chances of pupils from these areas, "when you look at the breakdown by school, it's often the most disadvantaged schools that lack resources".
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
"Disadvantaged children attend disadvantaged schools, located in disadvantaged areas," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The latest Pisa data showed the most disadvantaged pupils in England performed above the overall Welsh average in reading.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
In the sixties, minority became a synonym for socially disadvantaged Americans—but it was primarily a numerical designation.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
A unit of SpaceX is suing Apple for disadvantaging its AI app, and the company is now prototyping its own smartphone-like AI device.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
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
Ms Moore joins a growing list of headteachers who have spoken out about how school budgets are disadvantaging pupils from low income households.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2024
ANZ's three larger rivals have started considering lending without applying the 3% buffer, saying it is disadvantaging some borrowers.
From Reuters ● Jul. 12, 2023
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
