Disadvantaged

How to spell disadvantaged

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce disadvantaged

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does disadvantaged mean?

1. adjectiveLacking the money, resources, or opportunities that most other people have.
2. verbPast tense of disadvantage: to have placed someone in an unfavourable position.

Disadvantaged in a sentence

• adjective

  The charity provides free tutoring for disadvantaged children in the city.

• verb

  The sudden rule change disadvantaged several long-standing members of the club.

• adjective

  The new scheme targets families from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

• verb

  Poor broadband coverage disadvantaged rural businesses for years.

Where does disadvantaged come from?

Language of origin: French

This word is built on 'advantage', which English borrowed in the 1300s from the Old French 'avantage', a noun meaning a position of superiority or profit. That French word grew from 'avant', meaning 'before' or 'in front', which traces back to the Late Latin 'abante', a fusion of 'ab' (from) and 'ante' (before): literally being out in front of others. English speakers added an unetymological 'd' to 'advantage' under the influence of Latin 'ad-' words, which is why we write 'adv' rather than 'av'. The negative prefix 'dis-', from Latin meaning 'apart' or 'the reverse of', was attached to produce 'disadvantage', and the '-ed' ending then formed the adjective and past tense. The spelling trap is twofold: remembering the silent first syllable shape (dis-ad-) and not dropping the 'd' that English inserted into 'advantage' centuries ago.

How the word is built

• dis- (not, opposite of)
• advantage (favourable position)
• -ed (adjective/past-tense suffix)