disrespectful

Etymology

It is formed from English dis- + respectful,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} after disrespect.^[2][5] Johnson (1755) analysed it as disrespect and full.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lacking or showing a lack of respect: before 1677, in Isaac Barrow's Of Love of God.^[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1670s,^[3] Dictionary.com to 1670–80, and the Shorter Oxford to the late 17th century.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to its first one, the opposite of respectful.^[2][5] Johnson (1755) glossed it "irreverent; uncivil",^[7] and Etymonline gives the same two senses.^[3] The adverb disrespectfully and the noun disrespectfulness are recorded from the late 17th century too.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1677 – showing a lack of respect.^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson glosses it as irreverent and uncivil.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lacking proper respect in speech or action; showing contempt: a disrespectful remark about the referee.^[4][2][5]
2. Uncivil or discourteous: It was disrespectful to talk through the speech.^[4][7]

Word family

• disrespectfully
• disrespectfulness

Related words

• unrespectful
• respect
• respectful
• disrespect

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.