Meanings
plural disservices
- countableuncountableService that results in harm; an (intentionally or unintentionally) unhelpful, harmful action.
One renders young people a disservice by heaping unearned rewards on them.
2 more examples
Often schools of music focus solely on the canon of Western classical art music, but this is a disservice to music educators who will have to deal with students from many different backgrounds and preferences.
2014, Michele Kaschub, Janice Smith, Promising Practices in 21st Century Music Teacher Education, Oxford University Press, →ISBNTreating narratives like something you can stretch out to give more value does a disservice to players and our engagement.
2018 July 5, Sam Greer, “Games want to offer us many roads but Kentucky Route Zero is the one road that matters”, in Eurogamer
present singular third person disservices · participle present disservicing · participle past disserviced · past disserviced
- To disserve, to provide a disservice to; to provide harmful or inadequate service to.
One librarian said, "I could double the circulation tomorrow by closing the periodical stacks and counting every time I handed out a magazine, but I would be disservicing our readers."
1975, Sarah Katharine Thomson, Learning resource centers in community colleges
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindis-
- Old Frenchdes-
- Latindis-
- Middle Englishdis-
- Englishdis-
- Englishservice
- Englishdisservice
Translations
Czech medvědí služba
- medvědí službaservice that results in harm
Finnish karhunpalvelus
- karhunpalvelusservice that results in harm
French mauvais service, desservice
- mauvais serviceservice that results in harm
- desserviceservice that results in harm
German Bärendienst, schlechter Dienst
- Bärendienstservice that results in harm
- schlechter Dienstservice that results in harm
- Schadenservice that results in harm
Hindi अपकार
- अपकार (apkār)service that results in harm
Lithuanian meškos paslauga
- meškos paslaugaservice that results in harm
Polish niedźwiedzia przysługa
- niedźwiedzia przysługaservice that results in harm
Portuguese desserviço
- desserviçoservice that results in harm
Romanian deserviciu
- deserviciuservice that results in harm
Spanish flaco favor, deservicio
- flaco favorservice that results in harm
- deservicioservice that results in harm
Swedish björntjänst
- björntjänstservice that results in harm
Cite this entry
disservice. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disservice
“disservice.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disservice. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disservice,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disservice.
Source: disservice on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.