dis

1 of 5

verb

ˈdis 

variants or less commonly diss

dissed; dissing

transitive verb

1

slang : to treat with disrespect or contempt : insult

dissed her former co-star in the interview

was dissed and ignored at the party

2

slang : to find fault with : criticize

dissed her wardrobe

dis

2 of 5

noun (1)

variants or less commonly diss

1

slang : a disparaging remark or act : insult

was meant as a tribute, not a dis

—Vibe

2

slang : disrespect

dis

3 of 5

abbreviation

1

discharge

2

discount

3

distance

Dis

4 of 5

noun (2)

ˈdis 

mythology

: the Roman god of the underworld (see underworld sense 1) compare pluto

dis-

5 of 5

prefix

1

a

: do the opposite of

disestablish

b

: deprive of (a specified quality, rank, or object)

disfranchise

c

: exclude or expel from

disbar

2

: opposite or absence of

disunion

disaffection

3

: not

disagreeable

4

: completely

disannul

5

: dys-

disfunction

Synonyms

Verb

• disrespect
• hate
• scout
• despise
• contemn
• disdain

Noun (1)

• outrage
• personality
• cut
• offense
• dig
• insult
• barb
• offence
• slap
• dart
• slight
• affront
• criticism
• name
• slur
• indignity

Examples of dis in a Sentence

Verb

don't dis my idea until you come up with a better one

a DJ who has dissed every album that artist has put out

Noun (1)

the refs can penalize a player for any dis on the field

don't take it wrong—I don't mean it as a dis

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Anthony Mackie recently revealed that Eminem was dissing him in real life, not his character Papa Doc, in the scene. —Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 12 Mar. 2025

Ian has seemingly responded to Tyler, The Creator after the Grammy-winning rapper subliminally dissed him during an interview with Maverick Carter last year. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 11 Mar. 2025

So did secure borders (Ron and Don) and tariffs (Don) and dissing Canada (Don and Ron). —Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2025

On the latter track, Cole addressed his divisive decision to apologize for dissing Kendrick Lamar and step away from a brewing rap battle with the GNX rapper. —Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 21 Feb. 2025

That’s no small feat considering that many critics dissed the movie. —Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2025

The 57-year-old media personality called out Serena Williams for joining Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show performance to diss Drake, and her husband Alexis Ohanian ethered him online. —Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 13 Feb. 2025

Don’t diss your teammates today. —Chris Branch, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025

Cookie Monster came out first but was unceremoniously dissed by our grandson, who excitedly pointed to Elmo behind him and, with a big grin, happily snuggled himself into Elmo’s open arms. —Lois Alter Mark, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025

Noun

At 45, Shaquille O'Neal has moved beyond rattling rims, but not beyond an old-school diss track. —Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, 29 July 2017

Thinking about this some more, this is kind of a dis. —Armando Salguero, miamiherald, 9 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

Verb

short for disrespect

Noun (2)

Latin

Prefix

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French des-, borrowed from Latin dis-, dī- (before b, d, g, l, m, n, v, r), dir- (before vowels), dif- (before f) "apart, asunder, in two," of uncertain origin

Note: Latin dis- is conventionally linked with bi- bi- entry 1, bis "twice," going back to *duis, but the loss of -u- is unexplained (perhaps from Indo-European *dus- "bad, dys-," otherwise unattested in Latin, crossed with duis-?). Possibly related are Greek diá "apart, through" (see dia-), assuming *dis-a-, and the West Germanic prefix represented by Old Saxon and Old Frisian te- "apart, in pieces," Old High German zi-, ze- (also zer-, perhaps crossed with zur-, Old English and Old Norse tor- "with difficulty," Gothic tuz-, from the Germanic outcome of Indo-European *dus-) and Old English and Old Saxon to- (assimilated to tō to entry 1?); the Gothic counterpart dis- "apart, away," with apparently unshifted d-, has no accepted explanation.

First Known Use

Verb

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

1986, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1567, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dis

• bis
• bliss
• criss
• diss
• hiss
• kiss
• kris
• liss
• mis
• miss
• riss
• sis

Kids Definition

dis

1 of 2 verb

ˈdis

dissed; dissing

1

slang : to treat with disrespect or contempt : insult

2

slang : to find fault with : criticize

dis-

2 of 2 prefix

1

a

: do the opposite of

disagree

b

: deprive of

disarm

c

: exclude or expel from

disbar

2

: opposite or absence of

disaffection

disfavor

3

: not

discourteous

Etymology

Prefix

Latin dis-, literally, "apart"

Medical Definition

dis

abbreviation

1

disabled

2

disease