dis

verb

\ ˈdis

variants: or less commonly diss

dissed; dissing

Definition of dis

(Entry 1 of 5)

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

noun (1)

variants: or less commonly diss

Definition of dis (Entry 2 of 5)

1 slang : a disparaging remark or act : insult was meant as a tribute, not a dis —Vibe

2 slang : disrespect

dis

abbreviation

Definition of dis (Entry 3 of 5)

1 discharge

2 discount

3 distance

Dis

noun (2)

\ ˈdis

Definition of Dis (Entry 4 of 5)

mythology

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

dis-

prefix

Definition of dis- (Entry 5 of 5)

1a : 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 [ by folk etymology ] : dys- disfunction

Examples of dis in a Sentence

Verb

don't you go dissing somebody just because you've got a few more dead presidents than they do a DJ who has dissed every album that rapper has put out

Noun (1)

that's a dis that a person of any color should find offensive in the hood any dis is dealt with harshly

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Trump doesn't dis his male opponents for their looks or emotions. — Amber Phillips, Washington Post, "Trump’s Mika tweets underscore a dark reality: For him, it’s always about gender," 29 June 2017 Not to dis the Silver Palate—because who would ever do that—but I’m pretty sure my pork tenderloin version is even better than the original. — Ashley Mason, Bon Appetit, "How the Silver Palate Cookbook Changed Our Cooking," 9 Mar. 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

At 45, Shaquille O'Neal has moved beyond rattling rims, but not beyond an old-school diss track. — Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Shaq's LaVar Ball diss track references Pat Riley, Alonzo Mourning, Dwyane Wade," 29 July 2017 Thinking about this some more, this is kind of a dis. — Armando Salguero, miamiherald, "Betting site thinks Dolphins are basically no better than Los Angeles Chargers -- which is not good," 9 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for dis

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.