English Reference
Noun

disservice

n.
C1 Advanced US /dɪˈsɝvəs/ UK /dɪsˈɜːvɪs/ dis·ser·vice UK spelling disservices

n.the act of helping someone or something to fail or be harmed. You use this when you do something that makes a situation worse than it already is.

n.the act of causing a person or thing to suffer harm or failure. Often used in the phrase 'do a disservice to', indicating that an action or statement has a negative impact on the subject.


SIMPLE

The poor quality of the translation did a disservice to the original book.

CONTEXTUAL

By ignoring the safety warnings, the company did a great disservice to its customers and its own reputation.

COMPLEX

The hasty publication of the report did a disservice to the research team's years of effort, as the findings were misinterpreted by the media before they could be properly explained.

And it’s a tragedy that the real and necessary objectives of diversity, equity and inclusion have been done a gross disservice by Cambridge University’s cynical tokenism.

The Guardian· 21 Aug 2026

Sometimes I do myself a disservice by not asking for what I need.

The Guardian· 13 Aug 2026
This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated