disrespect
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to treat someone or something without respect, often by being rude or ignoring them.
to show a lack of respect to someone or something. Transitive verb requiring a direct object.
Simple“He felt that his boss disrespected him by giving the promotion to someone else.”
In context“In many cultures, to turn your back on an elder while they are speaking is to disrespect them in a way that is difficult to forgive.”
UsageThis verb is often used in the passive voice to describe how someone feels they have been treated.
“Unanswered emails can make people feel ignored or disrespected, or jump to worrying or envisioning worst-case scenarios, such as being on the brink of getting laid off or fired.”
“He added that they treated the Royal Family with "great disrespect".”
From dis- + respect.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.