displease

/dɪsˈpliːz/

//dɪsˈpliːz// verb

"displease" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“displease” is uncommon English (frequency #74,902 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,902
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make not pleased; to cause a feeling of disapprobation or dislike in; to be disagreeable to; to vex slightly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-displease · displease · English

displease · rank #74,902 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,902
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dismissively

Nearest frequency peer: dismissively (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “displease”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “displease” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for displease
PropertyValue
Headworddisplease
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪsˈpliːz/
Letters9
Frequency rank#74,902
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “displease” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).displeasefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “dismissively” (#74,901), “distaff” (#74,903), “disjunction” (#74,900). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “displease” is #74,902. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

displease is uncommon English at frequency #74,902 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪsˈpliːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for displease, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: English dis- + please, from Middle English displesen, from Anglo-Norman despleisir, desplere, from Old French desplere (des- + plere). The correct English form is displease, spelled D-I-S-P-L-E-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make not pleased; to cause a feeling of disapprobation or dislike in; to be disagreeable to; to vex slightly.
  2. 2
    To give displeasure or offense.
  3. 3
    To fail to satisfy; to miss of.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how displease appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The boy's rudeness displeased me.
  2. I felt displeased with the boy.

Etymology

English dis- + please, from Middle English displesen, from Anglo-Norman despleisir, desplere, from Old French desplere (des- + plere).

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "displease"?
"displease" is spelled D-I-S-P-L-E-A-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪsˈpliːz/.
What does "displease" mean?
As a verb, "displease" means: To make not pleased; to cause a feeling of disapprobation or dislike in; to be disagreeable to; to vex slightly.
How do you pronounce "displease"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "displease" is /dɪsˈpliːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "displease"?
English dis- + please, from Middle English displesen, from Anglo-Norman despleisir, desplere, from Old French desplere (des- + plere). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "displease", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list