# Is 'Disrespect' a Verb? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289 "2017-10-19T15:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/1 "2017-10-19T15:26:57Z")
It certainly wasn’t when I was younger. But alot of people, some of them quite intelligent, use it that way. I have to tell you, I literally cringe every time I hear someone use it that way. But who am I to judge? Also, I often hear people in the news media, local at least, use it that way. In fact this local newscaster, from Britain no less (Tim Pamplin–? [I live in Detroit]) often uses it that way. So I have to ask: Is “disrespect” a Verb now? I am talking about standard English, which is constantly changing, you have to admit. Well? 🙂 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/2 "2017-10-19T15:34:08Z")
Isn’t it a verb the same way as “dishonor” is a verb? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/3 "2017-10-19T15:34:59Z")
[Yes.](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/disrespect) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/4 "2017-10-19T15:36:00Z")
[Verbing words is weird.](http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/01/28) ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/5 "2017-10-19T15:36:55Z")
It wasn’t when you were younger? You are clearly a marvel of medicine and should get straight to a research institute so they can figure out how you’re still alive after more than four full centuries! 🙂 The use of disrespect as a verb goes back to the 1600s, it’s not something new or recent. > **[That Annoying New Verb “disrespect” - DAILY WRITING TIPS](https://www.dailywritingtips.com/that-annoying-new-verb-%E2%80%9Cdisrespect%E2%80%9D/)** > > Reader Erica Richards, commenting on the post about the abomination “a few stuff,” was not so sanguine as I about teenagers outgrowing appalling usage: > [@](#): > > 1614 WITHER Sat. to King, Juvenilia (1633) 346 Here can I smile to see…how the mean mans suit is dis-respected. > > 1633 BP. HALL Hard Texts N.T. 11 If he love the one he must disrespect the other. > > 1683 CAVE Ecclesiastici 231 (Basil) To honor him, and dis-respect his Friend, was to stroke a man’s head with one hand, and strike him with the other. > > 1706 HEARNE Collect. 26 Apr., He was disrespected in Oxford by several men who now speak well of him. > > 1852 L. HUNT Poems Pref. 27 As if…sorrow disrespected things homely. > > 1885 G. MEREDITH Diana I. 257 You will judge whether he disrespects me. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/6 "2017-10-19T15:57:04Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Verbing words is weird.](http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/01/28) I like nouning conjunctions. You’re the _the_, The! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/7 "2017-10-19T16:05:50Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I like nouning conjunctions. You’re the _the_, The! I’m not a the. You’re a but. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/8 "2017-10-19T16:06:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I like nouning conjunctions. You’re the _the_, The! Shouldn’t the [The The](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_The) discussion be over in Cafe Society? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/9 "2017-10-19T16:09:54Z")
Is “respect” a verb? So what’s the word for doing the opposite? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/10 "2017-10-19T16:09:59Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > It certainly wasn’t when I was younger. But alot of people, some of them quite intelligent, use it that way. > > I have to tell you, I literally cringe every time I hear someone use it that way. But who am I to judge? If “respect” can be a verb, why can’t “disrespect”? (And, a lot of people cringe at [“alot.”](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html)) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/11 "2017-10-19T16:12:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is “respect” a verb? So what’s the word for doing the opposite? [Inrespect?](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM7ejcL9pk8/Vr4roZBEJsI/AAAAAAAACpY/oyyCEKiAs7A/s1600/TheSimpsons1218-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/12 "2017-10-19T16:15:02Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Verbing words is weird.](http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/01/28) Except the verb form came first, as far as we know. > [@](#): > > “disrespect > 1610s (v.), 1630s (n.), from dis- + respect. Related: Disrespected; disrespecting.” from [etymonline.com](http://etymonline.com). How has the OP not heard this form? I just quickly did a search on 20th Century books, and [here’s a snippet](https://books.google.com/books?id=4SEVAAAAIAAJ&q=%22disrespect+your%22&dq=%22disrespect+your%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0xdv5if3WAhVF9YMKHdzVDLQ4ChDoAQhEMAc) from one in 1903 called “American Primary Teacher” where it has the phrase “don’t disrespect your elders.” It’s hardly a new usage. The “new usage” was the shortening of “disrespect” into “diss.” ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/13 "2017-10-19T16:21:28Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Except the verb form came first, as far as we know. > > from [etymonline.com](http://etymonline.com). > > How has the OP not heard this form? I just quickly did a search on 20th Century books, and [here’s a snippet](https://books.google.com/books?id=4SEVAAAAIAAJ&q=%22disrespect+your%22&dq=%22disrespect+your%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0xdv5if3WAhVF9YMKHdzVDLQ4ChDoAQhEMAc) from one in 1903 called “American Primary Teacher” where it has the phrase “don’t disrespect your elders.” It’s hardly a new usage. The “new usage” was the shortening of “disrespect” into “diss.” I think (I have no actual evidence to support this thought) that using the word “disrespect” as a verb lost some favor during the time of my youth and young adulthood. It regained some favor in the 80s and 90s, along with the slang “diss”. So some people thought it to be a “new” usage, based on the noun they had used all along, as in showing someone disrespect. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/14 "2017-10-19T16:31:31Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > I think (I have no actual evidence to support this thought) that using the word “disrespect” as a verb lost some favor during the time of my youth and young adulthood. It regained some favor in the 80s and 90s, along with the slang “diss”. So some people thought it to be a “new” usage, based on the noun they had used all along, as in showing someone disrespect. That doesn’t sound implausible to me. I grew up in the 80s, so I swear I remember forms like “don’t disrespect your parents” and “don’t you disrespect me!” being common but it’s difficult to remember exactly when one first learned those constructions. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/15 "2017-10-19T16:37:26Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > I think (I have no actual evidence to support this thought) that using the word “disrespect” as a verb lost some favor during the time of my youth and young adulthood. It regained some favor in the 80s and 90s, along with the slang “diss”. So some people thought it to be a “new” usage, based on the noun they had used all along, as in showing someone disrespect. I did a Google Ngram search on _disrespected_ and _disrespecting_ (but not _disrespect_ itself because it’s impossible to separate the verb from the noun). The verb has had its ups and downs over the centuries. It’s been growing again since the 1930s but really took off in the mid-1980s with no sign of slowing down. [Ngram results](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=disrespecting%2Cdisrespected&year_start=1600&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cdisrespecting%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdisrespected%3B%2Cc0) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/16 "2017-10-19T16:40:42Z")
What annoys me is when respect/disrespect is used when what is meant is politeness or courtesy. Politeness can be given to anyone–_respect_ has to be earned. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/17 "2017-10-19T16:43:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That doesn’t sound implausible to me. I grew up in the 80s, so I swear I remember forms like “don’t disrespect your parents” and “don’t you disrespect me!” being common but it’s difficult to remember exactly when one first learned those constructions. I learned it in 1969 from the Temptations. > [@](#): > > My father didn’t know the meaning of the word > He disrespected Mama and treated us like dirt > I left home seeking a job that I never did find > Depressed and down-hearted, I took to Cloud 9 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/18 "2017-10-19T16:44:52Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I did a Google Ngram search on _disrespected_ and _disrespecting_ (but not _disrespect_ itself because it’s impossible to separate the verb from the noun). The verb has had its ups and downs over the centuries. It’s been growing again since the 1930s but really took off in the mid-1980s with no sign of slowing down. [Ngram results](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=disrespecting%2Cdisrespected&year_start=1600&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cdisrespecting%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdisrespected%3B%2Cc0) Looks about right. I just tried the phrases “disrespect him/her/you/me” and they all follow [a similar pattern](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=disrespect+me%2C+disrespect+your%2C+disrespect+him%2C+disrespect+her&year_start=1600&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cdisrespect%20me%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdisrespect%20your%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdisrespect%20him%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdisrespect%20her%3B%2Cc0). I can’t account for the blips in the late 1700s for “disrespect him.” (I tried searching books, but there are no matches for that exact phrase), but a lot of the 1800s ones are “disrespect Him” as in , God. So, anyhow, it looks like it was occasionally used previously, but in the 80s it took off, just as you wrote. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/20 "2017-10-19T16:58:51Z")
> [@lord\_arcturus\_of\_88](#): > > you would have to axe. It’s not really dialectal slang, though. It’s a word that’s long been around. (Actually, I suppose you can say that about “ask” and “aks,” as well, but I don’t think “disrespect” has ever gotten the :dubious: from grammarians.) I mean, just looking through Google books, I see all sorts of stuff. [Here’s one](https://books.google.com/books?id=xgY4AAAAMAAJ&q=%22don%27t+disrespect%22&dq=%22don%27t+disrespect%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0i7nMkv3WAhWmz4MKHZddDvoQ6AEIKDAA) from the Diesel and Oil Engine Handbook, 1923: “Don’t disrespect the authority of the Chief Engineer in charge.” Or [“Travel and Camera”](https://books.google.com/books?id=SKcuAQAAIAAJ&q=%22don%27t+disrespect%22&dq=%22don%27t+disrespect%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0i7nMkv3WAhWmz4MKHZddDvoQ6AEIRDAH), 1956: "Don’t disrespect your camera. Or [The Concordia Theological Seminary](https://books.google.com/books?id=NA_uAAAAMAAJ&q=%22disrespect+your%22&dq=%22disrespect+your%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwilsaTnk_3WAhWh14MKHQc6DyMQ6AEIKDAA) in 1965: “Are you jealous of what others have and thus moved to suspect or to disrespect your neighbor?” Now, it’s possible/probable that the word took off in the 80s because of pop cultural influences, but it’s never – to my knowledge – been a word that’s been “problematic.” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/21 "2017-10-19T17:19:39Z")
We had this same discussion about a year ago. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=806484](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=806484) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289.md?page=2)