Disadvantage Meaning
/ˌdɪsədˈvɑːntɪdʒ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA weakness or undesirable characteristic; con; drawback.
nounA setback or handicap.
Sentence Examples
The rumor worked to his disadvantage.
The comparison between the two was to his disadvantage.
My lack of practical experience was a disadvantage.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
Lack of education is a major ____ in the job market.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The rumor worked to his ____.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English disavauntage, from Old French desavantage.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"One of the disadvantages of increasing intermediate stops is that, as we have pointed out already, certain prestige trains have to suffer, notably the "Cornish Riviera Express", slowed 15min to Plymouth by stops at Taunton and Exeter; the "Torbay Express", decelerated 18min by stops at Reading, Westbury, Taunton and Newton Abbot; and the "Bristolian", which adds 14min in order to allow for a Bath stop and an increased load."
— 1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 590:
"I was brought hither under the disadvantage of being unknown, even by sight, to any of you."
— 1774, Edmund Burke, speech to the electors of Bristol:
"They would throw a construction on his conduct, to his disadvantage before the public."
— 1834–1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume (please specify |volume=I to X), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company [et al.], →OCLC:
"For London to have its own exclusive immigration policy would exacerbate the sense that immigration benefits only certain groups and disadvantages the rest. It would entrench the gap between London and the rest of the nation. And it would widen the breach between the public and the elite that has helped fuel anti-immigrant hostility."
— 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 Sep 2013:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Lack of education is a major ____ in the job market.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The rumor worked to his ____.