disadvantage

English

Alternative forms

• disadvauntage (obsolete)

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English disavauntage, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French desavantage

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌdɪsədˈvɑːntɪdʒ/
• IPA^(key): /ˌdɪsədˈvæntɪdʒ/

Noun

disadvantage (plural disadvantages)

1. A weakness or undesirable characteristic; a con.

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

2. A setback or handicap.

   My height is a disadvantage for reaching high shelves.

   • Burke

     I was brought here under the disadvantage of being unknown by sight to any of you.

   • Palfrey

     Abandoned by their great patron, the faction henceforward acted at disadvantage.

3. Loss; detriment; hindrance.
   • Bancroft

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

Synonyms

• (an undesirable characteristic): afterdeal, con, drawback, downside
• (a handicap): afterdeal, weakness

Antonyms

• advantage

Translations

weakness

• Arabic: سيئَة f
• Asturian: desventaya f
• Belarusian: нявы́гаднае стано́вішча n (njavýhadnaje stanóvišča)
• Bulgarian: неизгодно положение (neizgodno položenie)
• Catalan: desavantatge m
• Czech: nevýhoda (cs) f
• Danish: ulempe c
• Dutch: nadeel (nl) n
• Faroese: vansi m
• Finnish: haitta (fi), varjopuoli, haittapuoli
• French: désavantage (fr)
• Galician: desvantaxe f
• German: Nachteil (de)
• Greek: μειονέκτημα (el) n (meionéktima)
• Hebrew: חיסרון m (khisaron)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hátrány (hu)
• Irish: míbhuntáiste
• Italian: svantaggio (it)
• Japanese: 不利 (ja) (ふり, furi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ulempe m or f

  Nynorsk: ulempe f

• Polish: niekorzyść f
• Portuguese: desvantagem (pt) f
• Romanian: dezavantaj (ro) n
• Russian: невы́годное положе́ние n (nevýgodnoje položénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: ana-cothrom m
• Spanish: desventaja (es) f
• Swedish: nackdel (sv)
• Vietnamese: sự bất lợi (vi)

setback or handicap

• Armenian: թերություն (hy) (tʻerutʻyun)
• Asturian: desventaya f
• Bulgarian: пречка (bg) f (prečka), неудобство (bg) n (neudobstvo)
• Catalan: desavantatge m
• Czech: nevýhoda (cs) f
• Danish: ulempe c
• Finnish: haitta (fi), varjopuoli, haittapuoli
• French: désavantage (fr)
• Galician: desvantaxe f
• Hebrew: חיסרון m (khisaron)
• Hungarian: hátrány (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: míbhuntáiste
• Italian: svantaggio (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ulempe m or f

  Nynorsk: ulempe f

• Polish: wada (pl) f
• Portuguese: desvantagem (pt) f
• Romanian: dezavantaj (ro) n
• Russian: неудо́бство (ru) n (neudóbstvo)
• Scottish Gaelic: ana-cothrom m
• Spanish: desventaja (es) f
• Vietnamese: thế bất lợi

loss; detriment; hindrance

• Armenian: վնաս (hy) (vnas)
• Russian: поме́ха (ru) f (poméxa), затрудне́ние (ru) n (zatrudnénije), препя́тствие (ru) n (prepjátstvije)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Vietnamese: sự thiệt hại (vi), mối tổn thất

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} malavantaĝo
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

1. (transitive) To place at a disadvantage.

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

   • 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, "London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):

     For London to have its own exclusive immigration policy would exacerbate the sense that immigration benefits only certain groups and disadvantages the rest. It would entrench the gap between London and the rest of the nation. And it would widen the breach between the public and the elite that has helped fuel anti-immigrant hostility.

Synonyms

• tell against

Derived terms

• disadvantageous
• disadvantageously
• disadvantageousness