Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To cause annoyance or vexation to.
- v. To cause annoyance or displeasure.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- 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.
Wiktionary
- v. 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 or at. It usually expresses less than to anger, vex, irritate, or provoke.
- v. To fail to satisfy; to miss of.
- v. To give displeasure or offense.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. 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 . - v. To fail to satisfy; to miss of.
- v. To give displeasure or offense.
WordNet 3.0
- v. give displeasure to
Etymologies
- Middle English displesen, from Old French desplaire, desplais-, from Vulgar Latin *displacēre, from Latin displicēre : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin placēre, to please; see please.
Examples
“Does the expression displease you, mademoiselle?" laughingly said the young man; "is it the word 'little,' or the word 'sister'?”
“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
“I understand the press does not want to "displease" the White House because they will be denied access.”
“She will have to fire teachers, jettison principals, displease parents.”
“Still, the government in recent years has increasingly sought to influence the two companies and push them toward activities that displease many private investors.”
The Wall Street Journal: Brazil's Push to Oust Vale's CEO Reflects Trend
“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
“The Chinagos -- such they were called by the indolent, brown-skinned island folk -- saw to it that they did not displease Schemmer too greatly.”
“Metamorphoses into theological fantasy at the end, which may displease some readers.”
“These fears at the grassroots have, however, fallen on deaf ears as ASEAN governments have been extremely reluctant to displease Beijing.”
“It takes the political will and willingness, as Eisenhower possessed, to make hard choices choices that will displease powerful people both inside the Pentagon and out.”
The Wall Street Journal: Gates Calls for Paring of Military Bureaucracy
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