displease

verb

dis·​please (ˌ)dis-ˈplēz 

displeased; displeasing; displeases

transitive verb

1

: to incur the disapproval or dislike of especially by annoying

their gossip displeases her

2

: to be offensive to

abstract art displeases him

intransitive verb

: to give displeasure

behavior calculated to displease

Synonyms of displease

• annoy
• irritate
• dissatisfy
• disturb

Examples of displease in a Sentence

her coworkers' tendency to pry displeased her

Recent Examples on the Web

Sadat was killed by Muslim extremists who were displeased with Sadat’s foreign and domestic policies. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026

When the restaurant informed the couple that they were not permitted to offer special alcoholic deals due to local restrictions, the couple was displeased. — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

Those subpoenas were withdrawn on Thursday in a New York courtroom — just one of the arenas where the president, in his second term, has been seeking to control media coverage that displeases him. — Jocelyn Noveck, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Bad Bunny clearly saw something that displeased him on center court. — Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English displesen, from Anglo-French despleisir, desplere, from des- dis- + pleisir to please — more at please

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for displease

• agrees
• appease
• bougies
• burmese
• chemise
• chickpeas
• chinese
• cowpeas
• curies
• decrees
• degrees
• disease

Kids Definition

displease

verb

dis·​please (ˈ)dis-ˈplēz 

: to cause to feel disapproval, dislike, or annoyance

was displeased by the delay