Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To cause annoyance or vexation to.
- intransitive verb To cause displeasure or annoyance.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To fail to please; offend; be disagreeable to; excite aversion in: as, acrid and rancid substances displease the taste; glaring colors displease the eye; his conduct displeased his relatives.
- To fail to accomplish or satisfy; fall short of.
- [Frequently followed by to in old English.] Synonyms To annoy, chafe, provoke, pique, fret.
- To excite disgust or aversion.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To make not pleased; to excite a feeling of disapprobation or dislike in; to be disagreeable to; to offend; to vex; -- often followed by
with orat . It usually expresses less than toanger ,vex ,irritate , orprovoke . - transitive verb obsolete To fail to satisfy; to miss of.
- intransitive verb obsolete To give displeasure or offense.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To make not
pleased ; to excite a feeling of disapprobation or dislike in; to bedisagreeable to; tooffend ; tovex ; -- often followed by with or at. It usually expresses less than to anger, vex, irritate, or provoke. - verb To fail to
satisfy ; to miss of. - verb To give
displeasure or offense.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb give displeasure to
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Does the expression displease you, mademoiselle?" laughingly said the young man; "is it the word 'little,' or the word 'sister'?"
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II Jules Lermina 1877
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"Does the idea displease you?" he asked, in his turn grave.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 17, No. 101, May, 1876 Various
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I understand the press does not want to "displease" the White House because they will be denied access.
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Metamorphoses into theological fantasy at the end, which may displease some readers.
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Metamorphoses into theological fantasy at the end, which may displease some readers.
Stromata Blog: 2010
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She will have to fire teachers, jettison principals, displease parents.
DeMorning DeBonis: Jan. 21, 2011 Mike DeBonis 2011
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Still, the government in recent years has increasingly sought to influence the two companies and push them toward activities that displease many private investors.
Brazil's Push to Oust Vale's CEO Reflects Trend Paulo Prada 2011
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Metamorphoses into theological fantasy at the end, which may displease some readers.
A Fact a Day About Obamacare – Day Six: Why Medical Costs Rise 2009
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While they will likely displease the Pakistani government, these stipulations on the $2.3 billion marked for Pakistan in the supplemental fall well within the accountability recommendations Senior Fellow Brian Katulis made when he returned from Pakistan last week.
Wonk Room » Moving Beyond A Transactional U.S.-Pakistan Partnership 2009
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The Chinagos -- such they were called by the indolent, brown-skinned island folk -- saw to it that they did not displease Schemmer too greatly.
THE CHINAGO 2010
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