Disadvantage

//ˌdɪsədˈvɑːntɪdʒ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A weakness or undesirable characteristic; con; drawback.

    "The disadvantage to owning a food processor is that you have to store it somewhere."

  2. 2
    the quality of having an inferior or less favorable position wordnet
  3. 3
    A setback or handicap.

    "My height is a disadvantage for reaching high shelves."

  4. 4
    Loss; detriment; hindrance.

    "They would throw a construction on his conduct, to his disadvantage before the public."

Verb
  1. 1
    To place at a disadvantage. transitive

    "They fear it might disadvantage honest participants to allow automated entries."

  2. 2
    put at a disadvantage; hinder, harm wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
afterdealabuseadoafflictafterdealaggrieve

Example

More examples

"The rumor worked to his disadvantage."

Etymology

From Middle English disavauntage, from Old French desavantage.

Related phrases

first-mover disadvantage

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.