English Reference
Adjective

disagreeable

adj.
C1 Advanced US /ˌdɪsəˈɡɹiəbəɫ/ UK /dˌɪsɐɡɹˈiːəbəl/ dis·agree·able UK spelling disagreeables

adj.unpleasant, annoying, or difficult to deal with. You use this to describe someone who is rude or something that is not nice to experience.

adj.causing a feeling of displeasure, annoyance, or discomfort. Often used to describe a person's temperament or an unpleasant situation.


SIMPLE

The weather was very disagreeable during our holiday.

CONTEXTUAL

The two neighbors had a long history of disagreeable arguments over the placement of the garden fence.

COMPLEX

While the technical specifications of the new software were impressive, the user interface proved so disagreeable that many employees refused to adopt the system.

She rejected his comments, saying Farage had made “defamatory” and “extremely disagreeable declarations” in an attempt to boost his popularity.

The Guardian· 28 Aug 2026

Inherited from Middle English disagreable, from Middle French desagreable, from Old French desagraable (compare French désagréable). By surface analysis, dis- + agreeable.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Old French desagraable
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated