Disadvantage

How to spell disadvantage

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce disadvantage

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does disadvantage mean?

1. nounAn unfavourable circumstance or condition that reduces the chances of success.
2. verbTo put someone in an unfavourable position relative to others.

Disadvantage in a sentence

• noun

  Working from a noisy office put her at a serious disadvantage.

• verb

  The new tax rules will disadvantage small businesses far more than large ones.

• noun

  The high monthly fee is the one real disadvantage of the plan.

• verb

  Cutting the bus service would disadvantage commuters in rural areas.

Where does disadvantage come from?

Language of origin: French

This word is built on advantage, which English took from the Old French avantage, a noun formed on avant meaning 'before' or 'in front'. That French avant goes back to the Latin phrase ab ante, literally 'from before', so an advantage was originally the favourable position of being out in front. English speakers added the native negative prefix dis-, meaning 'not' or 'the reverse of', to coin disadvantage in the late 1500s for a state of being behind or worse off. The spelling preserves the French silhouette: the soft -age ending sounds like 'ij' yet keeps its French letters, and the buried d after the unstressed dis- is the part writers most often drop. Knowing that advantage hides the Latin idea of standing 'before' the field helps anchor that quiet middle of the word.

How the word is built

• dis- (not, reverse of)
• advant- (from Old French avant: before, ahead)
• -age (noun suffix)