disadvantage
Americannoun
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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)
noun
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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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have disadvantagedperfect
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has disadvantagedperfect 3rd person singular
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is disadvantagingprogressive 3rd person singular
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disadvantagessingular 3rd person
-
has been disadvantagingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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disadvantagingparticiple
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am disadvantagingprogressive 1st person singular
-
are disadvantagingprogressive
-
have been disadvantagingperfect progressive
Past
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had disadvantagedperfect
-
disadvantagedparticiple
-
disadvantagedsimple
-
were disadvantagingprogressive plural
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was disadvantagingprogressive singular
-
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.
There is not necessarily an advantage or disadvantage to a discount to NAV.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Soon, multiplexes emerged, which put the Westwood Village location at a disadvantage.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
“It creates an additional disadvantage for us, and then it is easier for EU buyers to shift to other countries,” he added.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The same mechanism that produces unequal economic opportunity also produces unequal political opportunity—and in politics, the disadvantage compounds across stages.
From Slate • May 22, 2026
A wise ruler, therefore, cannot and should not keep his word when such an observance would be to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that caused him to make a promise are removed.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
