disqualify
/dɪsˈkwɔləfaɪ/verb
disqualify is spelled D-I-S-Q-U-A-L-I-F-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, disqualify means “To make ineligible for something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in disqualify?
| Letters | 10: D-I-S-Q-U-A-L-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,168th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is disqualify?
Disqualify appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce disqualify?
- UK /dɪsˈkwɒlɪfaɪ/
- US /dɪsˈkwɔləfaɪ/
Disqualify has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-disqualify.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of disqualify
- disqualifies present, singular, he/she/it
- disqualifying participle, present
- disqualified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does disqualify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make ineligible for something.
My age disqualifies me for the position.
- 2
To exclude from consideration by the explicit revocation of a previous qualification.
The athlete was disqualified after performance-enhancing drugs were found in his hotel room.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Disqualify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense make ineligible:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | disqualifier |
| German | disqualifizieren |
| Portuguese | desqualificar, desclassificar |
| Spanish | descalificar, desclasificar, descualificar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does disqualify come from?
From dis- + qualify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).