dis-

• di-, dif-

From Middle English dis-, borrowed from Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís. Piecewise doublet of bis-; further related to bi-, di-, and twi-.

Often confused with the etymologically unrelated prefix dys-.

• IPA^(key): /dɪs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪs
• Homophones: dis, diss, dys-

dis-

2. Not, the reverse of. (Especially forming words with a negative connotation)

   Synonyms: un-, non-, de-, in-, an-, a-

   ‎dis- + ‎agree → ‎disagree

   ‎dis- + ‎connect → ‎disconnect

   ‎dis- + ‎satisfied → ‎dissatisfied

   ‎dis- + ‎interested → ‎disinterested

   ‎dis- + ‎honour → ‎dishonour

4. Expressing separation or removal.

   ‎dis- + ‎card → ‎discard (“to throw out a card”)

   ‎dis- + ‎bar → ‎disbar (“to expel from the bar”)

   ‎dis- + ‎franchise → ‎disfranchise (“to remove one's franchise, to prevent from voting”)

6. Used as an intensifier.

   ‎dis- + ‎embowel → ‎disembowel

   ‎dis- + ‎annul → ‎disannul (“to annul”)

8. Alternative form of dys- (“incorrect”).

   ‎dis- + ‎function → ‎disfunction

• When attached to a verbal root, prefixes often change the first vowel (whether initial or preceded by a consonant/consonant cluster) of that verb. These phonological changes took place in Latin and usually do not apply to words created (as in New Latin) from Latin components since Latin became a 'dead' language. Note: the combination of prefix and following vowel did not always yield the same change. Also, these changes in vowels are not necessarily particular to being prefixed with dis- (i.e. other prefixes sometimes cause the same vowel change- see con-, ex-).

NOTE: Words using the prefix dis- do not necessarily use the prefixes given here when translated. See individual words for more accurate translations.

• dys-

• “dis-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “dis-”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• IDs, SDI, sid, I-Ds, ISD, DSI, IDS, ids, sid', Sid, SID, I.D.s

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-).

dis-

1. dys- (bad)

   disfàsia ― dysphasia

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited des-.

dis-

1. indicates negation

   ‎dis- + ‎sort (“luck”) → ‎dissort (“misfortune”)

• “dis-”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “dis-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “dis-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Presumably from di- with epenthetic s, possibly influenced by Latin dis-. Compare Welsh dis-.

dis-

1. un-, non-, -less

   Synonyms: an-, heb, di-, on-

   ‎dis- + ‎gul (“to do”) → ‎diswul (“to undo”)

From Latin dis-.

dis-

1. dis-

• a-
• dys-
• u-
• in-

• “dis-” in Den Danske Ordbog

Ultimately from Latin dis-.

• IPA^(key): /dɪs/

• Audio:

  (file)

dis-

1. dis-

Borrowed from Latin dis-.

• IPA^(key): /dis-/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -is-
• Syllabification: dis-

dis-

1. shows separation, dissemination, e.g. semi (“sow”) > dissemi (“disseminate”) ; ŝiri (“tear”) > disŝiri (“tear to pieces”).

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited dé-.

• IPA^(key): /dis/

dis-

1. dis-

From Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís. See also s-.

dis-

1. dis-

   ‎dis- + ‎sglonfâ (“to inflate”) → ‎disglonfâ (“to deflate”)

   ‎dis- + ‎florî (“to bloom”) → ‎disflorî (“to wither”)

2. as intensifier

   ‎dis- + ‎sfidâ (“to challenge”) → ‎disfidâ (“to compete”)

   ‎dis- + ‎scuvierzi (“to discover, to uncover”) → ‎discuvierzi (“to find out, to unveil”)

dis-

1. romanization of 𐌳𐌹𐍃-

Borrowed from Esperanto dis-, from Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís.

dis-

1. shows separation or dissemination

From Dutch dis-, from Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís.

• IPA^(key): [dɪs]
• Hyphenation: dis

dis-

1. dis- (“reversal, removal; apart”)

• “dis-”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

dis-

1. alternative form of dios-

From Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís. See also s-.

dis-

1. dis-

   ‎dis- + ‎fare (“do”) → ‎disfare (“undo”)

   ‎dis- + ‎organizzare (“organize”) → ‎disorganizzare (“disorganize”)

• s-
• in-

• dī-
• dif-

Seemingly a mix of Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”), Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two”) (doublet of bi-) and Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice, in two”) (doublet of bis), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”). De Vaan proposes that either Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”) was reformed to Proto-Italic *dis- by analogy with Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two”), or that *dwis- was changed to *dis- by dissimilation before roots starting with *w.^[1] Cognate with Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-), Ancient Greek διά (diá), Ancient Greek δίς (dís), Sanskrit द्विस् (dvis).

dis-

1. asunder, apart, in two

   dīmittō ― dismiss, disband

   discēdō ― part, separate

2. reversal, removal

   dissimulō ― disguise, conceal

3. utterly, exceedingly

   differtus ― stuffed full

• Before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, sc, sp, st and v, the prefix becomes dī-.
• Before f, the prefix becomes dif-.
• Before a consonantal i, the prefix may become dī- or remain as dis-.
• Before a vowel or h, the prefix becomes dir- in the two verbs diribeō and dirimō, which arose early enough to be subject to rhotacism, but from Classical Latin onwards, dis- is used (see, for example, dishiascō in Cato).

• bis
• duo

• “dis-”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

• des-, dys-

Borrowed from Old French des- and its source Latin dis-.

• IPA^(key): /dis-/, /dɛs-/

dis-

1. Forms words denoting reversal or removal; dis-, de-.

   Synonym: de-

2. Intensifies words with a negative connotation; dis-, de-.

   Synonym: de-

• Sometimes used interchangeably with de-; see that entry for more.

• English: dis- (obsolete des-)

• “des-, pref.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “dis-, pref.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited des-.

dis-

1. dis- (indicates separation)

Borrowed from New Latin dys-, from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-, “bad, hard”).

• dys- (obsolete)

dis-

1. (medicine) dys- (forms the names of conditions characterised by difficult or inadequate function)
2. dys- (bad or wrong)

• “dis-”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “dis-”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited des-.

dis-

1. dis-

• “dis-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• IPA^(key): /dɪs/

dis-

1. intensifying prefix

   ‎dis- + ‎taw (“quiet, silent”) → ‎distaw (“silent, noiseless”)

   ‎dis- + ‎pwyll (“consideration”) → ‎disbwyll (“discretion, prudence”)

2. negative prefix

   Synonyms: af-, an-, di-

   ‎dis- + ‎cloff (“lame”) → ‎disgloff (“sure footed, agile”)