displease Hear it!

displease Definition

dis·please (dis plēz′, dis′-)

transitive verb, intransitive verb displeased -·pleased′, displeasing -·pleas′·ing

to fail to please or to be disagreeable (to); annoy; offend; irritate

Etymology: ME displesen < OFr desplaisir < VL *displacere, for L displicere < dis-, not + placere: see please

displease Synonyms

displease

v.

vex, provoke, annoy, offend; see anger 1, bother 3.

displease Usage Examples

Object

  • man: If a woman displeases a man, she is subject to having acid thrown into her face.
  • adult: As well as learning how to please, children of this age need to find out what happens if they upset or displease adults.
  • government: ISPs will not be inclined to displease the government, because the government might act to re-introduce competition.
  • people: We admit publicly our conditions and points of view, and this displeases many people.