disservice

noun

dis·​ser·​vice (ˌ)di(s)-ˈsər-vəs 

: ill service : harm

also : an unhelpful, unkind, or harmful act

misinformation that does a disservice to readers

Synonyms

• injustice
• wrong
• offence

Examples of disservice in a Sentence

Her comments were a disservice to those volunteers.

you do a great disservice to the professionals at the day-care center when you refer to them as “babysitters”

Recent Examples on the Web

Directives harming programs that help students of color only do a disservice to the industries left lacking employees who can serve the diverse populations around them, McGregor said. —Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 12 July 2025

Having an overly supportive AI can be a disservice. —Nisha Talagala, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

Arizona Republic columnist Phil Boas warned in an article earlier this year that Mexican flag-waving protesters could be doing a disservice to their cause. —Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 9 June 2025

His framing of rural opposition as merely aesthetic grievance is a disservice to the real and serious concerns held by our community. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disservice

• preservice
• interservice
• nervous
• nervus

Kids Definition

disservice

noun

dis·​ser·​vice (ˈ)dis-ˈ(s)ər-vəs 

: an unhelpful, unkind, or harmful act

behavior that did a disservice to the sport