disagree

What it means

1. intransitiveTo fail to agree; to have a different opinion or belief.

   John disagreed with Mary frequently.

   5 more examples

   Bob says cats are friendlier than dogs, but I disagree.

   Not only did I oppose President George H.W. Bush on his China policy, I strenuously disagreed with Democratic President Bill Clinton on his trade and human rights policies toward China and Tibet as well. This was difficult because I otherwise greatly supported and admired his leadership.

   2008, Nancy Pelosi, “A Voice That Will Be Heard”, in Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters, Doubleday, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 96–97

   You might think you look great in the full, body-hugging Lycra gimp suit, but chances are your girlfriend disagrees – according to the poll only 7% of the women asked found it a good look.

   2009 October 9, Peter Walker, The Guardian

   If her manner of opposing the debate was deemed objectionable (she scoffed a little, saying that the lack of female parity in society was more of an issue), there were ways for people to disagree without resorting to lurid terrorisations.

   2015 November 1, Barbara Ellen, “Let’s never get inured to online rape threats”, in The Observer

   Recently, the Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett spoke together publicly about how members of the court speak civilly to one another while disagreeing, sometimes vigorously, about the law.

   2024 March 4, Stephen Breyer, “Stephen Breyer: The Supreme Court I Served On Was Made Up of Friends”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms: beg to differ, quarrel, dispute

2. intransitiveTo fail to conform or correspond with.

   My results in the laboratory consistently disagree with yours.

In a sentence

John disagreed with Mary frequently.

Where it comes from

1. Old Frenchdesagreer
2. Anglo-Normandisagreer
3. Middle Englishdisagre“to refuse to assent to”
4. Englishdisagree

From Middle English disagre (“to refuse to assent to”), from Anglo-Norman disagreer, disagrer, desagreer (“to refuse assent”), from Old French desagreer, desagrëer (“to be disagreeable; to be unpleasant”) (modern French désagréer (“to displease”)); the English word is analysable as dis- + agree.