Dis or diss?
dis is a verb meaning “Alternative spelling of diss”; diss is a verb meaning “To put (someone) down, or show disrespect by the use of insulting language or…”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. They sound the same (/dɪs/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) dis is about 3.9 times as common as diss.
What is the difference between dis and diss?
| dis | diss | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, noun, determiner, pronoun, prefix | verb, noun |
| Meaning | Any of a group of minor female deities in Scandinavian folklore Not, the reverse of. (Especially forming words with a negative connotation) Expressing separation or removal | Ampelodesmos mauritanicus syn. Ampelodesmos tenax, a reedy grass used for cordage |
| Example | At another dinner, the president, on the removal of the cloth, rose and said... We will conduct weself in sich a manner, dat massa will… | none recorded |
| Forms | disses, dissing, dissed | disses, dissing, dissed |
| Pronunciation | /dɪs/ /dɪs-/ /ˌdɪs-/ | /dɪs/ |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words | 1.4 times per million words |
Sources: dis and diss in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of dis and diss
dis
- 1
informalAlternative spelling of diss
- 2
Alternative form of diss
- 3
Any of a group of minor female deities in Scandinavian folklore
- 4
Not, the reverse of. (Especially forming words with a negative connotation)
dis- + agree → disagree
- 5
Alternative form of dis
- 6
Alternative form of dis
- 7
Expressing separation or removal
dis- + card → discard (“to throw out a card”)
- 8
Used as an intensifier
dis- + embowel → disembowel
diss
- 1
slangTo put (someone) down, or show disrespect by the use of insulting language or dismissive behaviour
- 2
slangAn insult or put-down; an expression of disrespect
- 3
slangDissertation
- 4
Ampelodesmos mauritanicus syn. Ampelodesmos tenax, a reedy grass used for cordage
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, dis or diss?
dis appears 5.4 times per million words; diss 1.4 times per million words.
dis 5.4 times per million wordsdiss 1.4 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search dis vs diss?
“dis vs diss” is searched about 30 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“diss vs dis”, “dis or diss”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.