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:
Carney needs to "think hard about his next move," Fagan argued, and ensure any new countermeasures are chosen strategically while recognizing Canada "is always going to be at a disadvantage."
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
These associations remained after the researchers accounted for other factors that could have influenced the results, including childhood cognitive ability, education level and childhood disadvantage.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
Most people see renting as a disadvantage, Leung said, but “renting below our means allowed us to save a lot.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
“An agreement that does not put us at a disadvantage relative to our most important competitors remains essential,” Chairman of Swissmem Martin Hirzel says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The other is that wintering at a relatively northern latitude has advantages that make up for the disadvantage of its coldness.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
"Despite tip-fatigue, I do not think tipping is going to be eliminated on widescale anytime soon because the economic disadvantages of eliminating tipping outweigh the advantages," says Lynn.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Are there tax advantages or disadvantages to leaving my assets directly to charities?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Rather than carefully comparing the advantages and disadvantages of every available option, people may rely on memories of what they chose previously.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
It said the school leaned on how applicants answered “hardship” questions — which ask students how they overcame disadvantages — as a proxy for race.
From Los Angeles Times ● 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
Lyne, who went on to co-found venture-capital firm BBG, said there is still a sense that women building companies on their own are disadvantaged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
In a statement, he added that the name of the unit posed "obvious problems of definition" and "risks being deeply patronising, to equate being working class with being disadvantaged".
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
He said: "It does nothing to address the chronic underfunding that has disadvantaged policing in Cleveland for years."
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
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
Impetus director Steve Haines said: "We are concerned that the unintended consequence of this important intervention could end up disadvantaging the children who need it the most."
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2024
Under the planned British law, the CMA will be able to tailor rules for tech companies that meet it threshold to stop them unfairly disadvantaging smaller businesses and consumers.
From Reuters ● Apr. 24, 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
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.
