When someone says they’re uninterested in something, they usually mean they have no interest in learning more about something someone who is disinterested in something is impartial or unbiased. Since un and dis both mean “not,” you might think that they’re interchangeable in cases like uninterested and disinterested, but there are rules on when to use them. Like words with dis, words with un are also known as negatives-words added to show that something is untrue, nullified, or not happening. In contrast, discomposed means “to disturb” or “to destroy.” When should you use the prefix un?Īttach the negative prefix un to the beginning of a base word to change its meaning to “not,” “deprived of,” or “released from.” When we say something decomposed, we mean it disintegrated, rotted, or separated into individual parts.

We’ll use the word compose as an example. The negative prefix de, like dis, is attached to the beginning of verbs to show the undoing of an action, but it has a different meaning than dis depending on which base word is used. Take similar care when choosing between dis and de. The word unorganized simply means “the lack of organization.” Someone who is described as disorganized is not only not organized-they may also be considered messy. Take disorganized and unorganized: Both words indicate that someone or something is not organized, but their implications are quite different.

There are times when dis may seem like the best prefix to use, but that might not always be the case. Words with dis are known as negatives, which are words that show that something is untrue, nullified, or not happening. The word disappear consists of the prefix dis and the verb appear, so its literal definition is “to not appear” or “doing the opposite of appearing.” The object of sublime, inchoate dis-ease is subsequently displaced from beautiful and threatening Welsh landscapes to a crowdsourced writing program triggering the inexplicable “fall of mist,” simultaneously destroying authorial property and altering the natural world beyond recognition.Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly When should you use the prefix dis?ĭis is a prefix added to the beginning of base words that means “not” or “opposite of” it can also be attached to verbs to show the undoing of an action. The original meaning of disease is still found in a punctuated form, conveyed in modern use with a neatly placed hyphen:ĭavis’s novel opens with Wordsworthian landscapes that inspire anxiety and dread. 'Disease' and Illnessīy the end of the 14th century, per the Oxford English Dictionary, this 'lack of ease' meaning had extended into a specific not-feeling-well kind of lack of ease as a general term for 'sickness, illness.' It wasn't until the 16th century that disease was used to refer to a case of an illness, or to specific illnesses and maladies. To accord and love, and many a wrong appease. Where'er we go, good drink with us we carry įor that will turn rancour and all unease This can be rendered in modern English as: Where that we goon, that drynke we with us carie. As the addition of its second element to the prefix dis- suggests, it was all about a lack of ease.Įase hasn't changed as much over its 800 year history the meanings it has relating to the state of being comfortable, including freedom from pain or discomfort, were well-established when disease came on the scene in the 14th century with its 'lack of ease' meaning that we can also understand as 'trouble, discomfort, uneasiness, distress.'Ĭhaucer used the word this way in 'The Manciple's Prologue,' from Canterbury Tales: That's right: when disease was first used it didn't refer to an illness-that is, to (as our definition puts it) 'a condition of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.' No, the first meaning of disease was far more transparent than that. Because words are fascinating, and the word disease didn't start out with the meaning it currently has. As this article is being written, in the middle of April 2020, one particular disease is on the mind of many (okay, all), but since words are our territory, we're going to focus not on disease-the-phenomenon, but on disease-the-word.

Time to dis meaning