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disc
dis·ad·van·taged /ˌdɪsədˈvɑːntɪdʒd||ˈvæn-/ adj (of a person) suffering from a disadvantage, especially with regard to one's social position, family background etc: disadvantaged students from the poorest homes
dis·ad·van·ta·geous /ˌdɪsædvənˈteɪdʒəs, -væn-/ adj [(to)] causing or being a disadvantage —ly adv
dis·af·fect·ed /ˌdɪsəˈfektɪd/ adj [(towards)] dissatisfied and lacking loyalty, especially political loyalty: Some of the government's most loyal supporters are now becoming disaffected. —fection /-ˈfekʃən/ n [U] There's growing disaffection among the more moderate members of the party.
dis·af·fil·i·ate /ˌdɪsəˈfɪliˌeɪt/ v [I;T(from)] (of a person or organization) to break one's connection with an organization → compare AFFILIATE
dis·af·for·est /ˌdɪsəˈfɒrɪst||ˈfɔː-, -ˈfɑː-/ v [T] DEFOREST
—ation /ˌdɪsəfɒˈreɪʃən||ˌfɔː-, -ˈfɑː-/ n [U]
dis·a·gree /ˌdɪsəˈɡriː/ v [I{(with)}] 1 (of people) to have different opinions; quarrel slightly: Bill and I often disagree but we're good friends. | I strongly disagree with the last speaker. | We disagreed over what should be done. 2 (of statements, reports etc) to be different (from each other); fail to CORRESPOND: These two reports of the accident disagree on a number of points.
disagree with sbdy. phr v [T no pass.] (of food or weather) to have a bad effect on; make ill: Chocolate always disagrees with me.
dis·a·gree·a·ble /ˌdɪsəɡriːəbəl/ adj 1 unpleasant; not what one likes or enjoys: a disagreeable job 2 (of people) bad-tempered and unfriendly: Stop being so disagreeable! —bly adv —ness n [U]
dis·a·gree·ment /ˌdɪsəɡriːmənt/ n 1 [C;U] the fact or a case of disagreeing: Bill and I have been having a few disagreements lately. | I am in total disagreement with you over this. 2 [U(between)] lack of similarity (between statements, reports etc): There is considerable disagreement between these two estimates of the cost.
dis·al·low /ˌdɪsəˈlaʊ/ v [T] fml to refuse officially to recognize or allow: to disallow a goal/a claim
dis·ap·pear /ˌdɪsəpɪər/ v [I] 1 to go out of sight: The sun disappeared behind a cloud. 2 to stop existing; come to an end: These beautiful birds are fast disappearing. 3 to leave or become lost, especially suddenly or without explanation: By the time the police arrived the gang had disappeared. | My keys have disappeared off the table. | Several top-secret files have mysteriously disappeared. —ance n [C;U] Her disappearance was very worrying.
dis·ap·point /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnt/ v [T] 1 to fail to fulfil the hopes of (a person): I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I can't come after all. 2 to prevent the fulfilment of (a plan or hope); FRUSTRATE: to disappoint someone's hopes
dis·ap·point·ed /ˌdɪsəpɔɪntd/ adj 1 [(about, at, in, with)] (of a person) unhappy at not seeing hopes come true: Since he lost the election he's a disappointed man. | She was very/deeply disappointed about/at losing the race. | My parents will be disappointed in/with me if I fail the exam. | [F+to-v] I was disappointed to hear that they weren't coming. | [F+(that)] I'm disappointed (that) you're not coming. 2 (of a plan or hope) defeated; not fulfilled: disappointed hopes —ly adv
dis·ap·point·ing /ˌdɪsəpɔɪntɪŋ/ adj making one unhappy at not seeing hopes come true: What disappointing news! | Your exam marks are rather disappointing. I expected you to do better. | disappointing profit figures —ly adv
dis·ap·point·ment /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt/ n 1 [U] the state of being disappointed: To my great disappointment she wasn't on the train. (=this made me disappointed) 2 [C] someone or something disappointing: Our son has been a disappointment to us. | The film was a bit of a disappointment. We expected it to be much better.
dis·ap·pro·ba·tion /ˌdɪsæprəˈbeɪʃən/ n [U] fml disapproval, especially of something immoral
dis·ap·prov·al /ˌdɪsəˈpruːvəl/ n [U] the state of disapproving: He spoke with disapproval of your behaviour. | She shook her head in disapproval. (=as a sign of disapproval) | She gave up her job, greatly to my disapproval. (=making me disapprove)
dis·ap·prove /ˌdɪsəpruːv/ v 1 [(of)] to have an unfavourable opinion of someone or something, especially for moral reasons: He disapproves of mothers going out to work. In fact, he disapproves very strongly. 2 [T] to refuse to agree officially to: Congress disapproved the legislation. —provingly adv
dis·arm /dɪsˈɑːm||ˈɑːrm/ v 1 [T] to take the weapons away from: The police disarmed the criminal. 2 [I] (especially of a country) to reduce the size and strength of its armed forces → compare REARM 3 [T] apprec to gain the trust or favour of, especially through friendliness: We didn't trust him at first, but his charming manner completely disarmed us. | a disarming smile
dis·ar·ma·ment /dɪsˈɑːməmənt||ˈɑːr-/ n [U] the act or principle of reducing or giving up weapons by a government. In the UK, many supporters of NUCLEAR disarmament are members of CND: a lifelong supporter of nuclear disarmament → compare ARMAMENT, REARMAMENT
dis·ar·range /ˌdɪsəˈreɪndʒ/ v [T] fml to upset the arrangement of; make untidy —ment n [U]
dis·ar·ray /ˌdɪsəˈreɪ/ n [U] fml the state of disorder: She rushed out of the burning house with her clothes in disarray. | (fig.) This latest internal row has thrown the government into complete disarray.
dis·as·so·ci·ate /ˌdɪsəˈsəʊʃiet, -sieɪt/ v [T(from)] to DISSOCIATE
di·sas·ter /dɪˈzɑːstə||dɪˈzæ-/ n [C;U] 1 (a) sudden serious misfortune causing great suffering and damage: The flood was a terrible disaster. Hundreds of people died. | The crash was the worst air disaster (=crash of a plane) this year. | Everything was going well, and then suddenly disaster struck. (=something terrible happened) 2 infml (a) complete failure: The party was an absolute disaster – the guests all got drunk and started fighting with each other.
di'saster, area || also distressed area AmE — n a place which has suffered a lot of damage because of a disaster such as a flood: The area has been declared a disaster area.
CULTURAL NOTE in the US, if the governor or the president DECLARES (=says officially) that a place is a disaster area, it then receives money from the state or FEDERAL government to build again.
di·sas·trous /dɪˈzɑːstrəs||dɪˈzæ-/ adj very bad; being or causing a disaster: a disastrous mistake/marriage/failure | The new system has had a disastrous effect on productivity. —ly adv
dis·a·vow /ˌdɪsəˈvaʊ/ v [T] fml to refuse to admit that one has (knowledge, a connection etc): She disavowed all responsibility for their actions. | He disavowed any intention to deceive the public. —al n [C;U]
dis·band /dɪsˈbænd/ v [I;T] to break up and separate: The club has disbanded. | The officers disbanded the club. —ment n [U]
dis·bar /dɪsˈbɑːr/ v -rr- [T often pass.] to make (a lawyer) leave the BAR or the legal profession → compare DEBAR —ment n [U]
dis·be·lief /ˌdɪsbɪˈliːf/ n [U] lack of belief that something is true or that something really exists: He shook his head in disbelief. → compare UNBELIEF, BELIEF
dis·be·lieve /ˌdɪsbɪˈliːv/ v [I(in);T] to refuse to believe (a statement or person): I see no reason to disbelieve what he says. —liever n → compare UNBELIEVER
Disbelieve is a strong and rather formal word which suggests that there are good reasons for not accepting something (especially a story or statement) as true. It is not the usual opposite of believe. People say: I don't believe you. | I don't believe in letting children do whatever they like.
dis·burse /dɪsˈbɜːs||ˈbɜːrs/ v [T] fml to pay out (money) especially from a sum saved or collected for a purpose —ment n [C;U] the disbursement of £20 | to make several small disbursements
disc BrE || disk AmE /dɪsk/ n 1 something round and flat, or looking flat: the disc of the full moon 2 a record for playing on a RECORD PLAYER → see also COMPACT DISC 3 a flat piece