Disrespectful

How to spell disrespectful

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce disrespectful

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does disrespectful mean?

1. adjectiveShowing a lack of respect or courtesy toward someone or something.

Disrespectful in a sentence

• Interrupting the speaker repeatedly came across as disrespectful.

• The manager warned that disrespectful remarks about clients would not be tolerated.

Where does disrespectful come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from a Latin core that English has reassembled in stages. At its heart is the Latin verb spectare, meaning 'to look at', a frequentative form of specere 'to see'; the prefix re- adds the sense of 'back' or 'again', so the underlying idea of 'respect' is literally 'to look back at' someone, that is, to regard them with esteem. English took 'respect' from the Latin respectus through Old French in the 1300s and 1400s. The negating prefix dis-, also from Latin, meaning 'apart' or 'the reverse of', was attached to form 'disrespect' in the 1600s, and the adjective 'disrespectful' followed shortly after, simply adding the native English suffix -ful, 'full of'. The same spect root surfaces in everyday relatives such as inspect, spectacle, and spectator, all of which involve looking, which is a useful reminder that the middle of the word is spelled spect, not 'spec' or 'spek'.

How the word is built

• dis- (not, opposite of)
• re- (back, again)
• spect (look)
• -ful (full of)