dis

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitiveslang

   To insult someone or speak about them in a rude, disrespectful way.

   Grammar: Takes an object: dis someone, dis a song. Also spelled diss.

   Patterns

   • dis someone
   • get dissed

   Don't dis my cooking if you plan to eat it.

   The rapper dissed his rival in the second verse.

   She felt dissed when nobody replied to her message.

2. 2verbtransitiveinformal

   To treat someone with a lack of respect, for example by ignoring them or putting them down.

   Grammar: Often used in the passive with get: He got dissed at the party.

   Patterns

   • dis someone in front of someone

   He thought the coach dissed him by leaving him on the bench.

   You shouldn't dis your teammates in public.

   Nobody wants to be dissed at work.

Word forms

Common combinations

dis someone

Please don't dis your little sister in front of her friends.

get dissed

I got dissed by the waiter, who walked right past me.

dis a rival

Rappers often dis a rival in their lyrics.

dis track

He released a dis track aimed at his old band.

stop dissing

Stop dissing my favorite team.

Synonyms and how they differ

insult

Insult is neutral and works in any register, while dis is slang and belongs to casual speech.

disrespect

Disrespect is the standard form this slang word comes from, and it is acceptable in formal writing.

put down

Put down is a phrasal verb that means to criticize someone to make them feel small, and it is less slangy than dis.

slight

Slight is more formal and describes an unintentional or subtle snub, whereas dis is blunt and often intentional.

Opposites

Word family

disrespect noun

lack of respect; the word dis comes from it

disrespectful adjective

showing no respect

diss verb

the more common spelling of dis

dis track noun

a song written to insult someone

Commonly confused: dis or dis-?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “dis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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