# 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:** 2
**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, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/22 "2017-10-19T18:03:16Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > 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) Heh. I have no recollection of that thread. Well, different cites from me this time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/23 "2017-10-19T18:40:49Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I like nouning conjunctions. You’re the _the_, The! What you nouned there was not a conjunction but an adjective or more precisely a definite article. ---
**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, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/24 "2017-10-19T19:23:35Z")
You can noun conjunctions, though, if you know what you’re doing. But that’s a big if. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/25 "2017-10-19T20:55:30Z")
But sometimes it sounds funny. And that’s a big but. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/26 "2017-10-19T21:17:23Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > What you nouned there was not a conjunction but an adjective or more precisely a definite article. Adjectives and articles are two different parts of speech. They used to be lumped together in the “classic” grammar that was restricted to only 8 parts of speech, but we’ve moved past that. The idea there were only 8 parts of speech is one of those things that comes from trying to force fit English grammar into that of the classic languages. Greek only had 8 parts of speech, so English had to as well. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/27 "2017-10-19T21:20:50Z")
The correct verb form is “dis”. The entire word gets no respect. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/28 "2017-10-19T21:25:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You can noun conjunctions, though, if you know what you’re doing. But that’s a big if. Very nice. ---
**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, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/29 "2017-10-19T21:40:28Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Very nice. It’s nice, but it’s not a usage that I would parse as using “if” as a verb. To me, it’s parsed as “that’s a big ‘if,’” with the “if” being used as a noun. Like “that’s a big no-no” doesn’t sound like “no-no” being a verb there, either. That said, you can use “and” and “or” as verbs, in the sense of “anding” and “orring” things in logic or computer programming. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/30 "2017-10-20T04:52:40Z")
> [@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) My sense is in agreement with the previous two posters that “disrespect” as a verb does seem to have gained in popularity in recent decades. I blame the Mafia. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/31 "2017-10-20T10:48:09Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I blame the Mafia. 😉 In the UK, we’d probably attribute it to Catherine Tate’s [Lauren Cooper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSNK-9v7_JI&feature=youtu.be&t=45) ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/32 "2017-10-20T12:01:40Z")
If the OP had just written “whom am I to judge”, I would have thought he was whooshing us. At the risk of seeming snarky – well, OK, being snarky – here’s my rundown: I’m fine with “disrespect” being used as a verb informally. I figuratively cringe when I hear “literally” used to mean “figuratively”. I’m fine with sentences that start with “But” in informal writing. I like [this alot](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html). Also, to be fair, I’m fine with using “snarky” informally, and as for being snarky, while I can’t take it as well as dish it out, I am getting closer. Maybe 80% as well now. However, part of that is probably a decline in the dish-out side of the equation – erm, inequality. I’m also fine with using cliches, but more so if they are subverted in some way. Oops, I’d better stop here. Time for my meds. ---
**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 20, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/33 "2017-10-20T13:51:33Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I’m fine with “disrespect” being used as a verb informally. Why only “informally”? It’s historically been used in a formal context (see my citations) often. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/34 "2017-10-20T13:57:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It’s nice, but it’s not a usage that I would parse as using “if” as a verb. To me, it’s parsed as “that’s a big ‘if,’” with the “if” being used as a noun. Like “that’s a big no-no” doesn’t sound like “no-no” being a verb there, either. Chronos was talking about “nouning a conjuction,” so making “if” a noun is just what he was talking about (and hence, very nice). ---
**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 20, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/35 "2017-10-20T14:33:22Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Chronos was talking about “nouning a conjuction,” so making “if” a noun is just what he was talking about (and hence, very nice). :smack: I’m a moron who apparently can’t read. Nothing to see here. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/36 "2017-10-20T14:39:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > :smack: > > I’m a moron who apparently can’t read. Nothing to see here. No worries. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/37 "2017-10-20T15:24:08Z")
I checked and there isn’t (yet) a “let me dictionary that for you” website like there is for Google. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/38 "2017-10-20T16:15:13Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I figuratively cringe when I hear “literally” used to mean “figuratively”. People use “literally” in a figurative sense as an intensifier (just like “really”), but no one uses it _to mean_ “figuratively.” ---
**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 20, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/39 "2017-10-20T16:20:30Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > People use “literally” in a figurative sense as an intensifier (just like “really”), but no one uses it _to mean_ “figuratively.” Exactly (or I would say as hyperbole), but this has been trudged over literally a zillion times before on these boards, and I think everybody’s pretty much set in their ways and there’s no new arguments to be made. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/40 "2017-10-20T17:26:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Exactly (or I would say as hyperbole), but this has been trudged over literally a zillion times before on these boards, and I think everybody’s pretty much set in their ways and there’s no new arguments to be made. I agree with you that everybody’s pretty much set in their ways over this silly bit of pedantry that’s become a hot-button topic in these forums almost every time it arises. However the linguist John McWhorter recently tried to address this issue head-on in his new book, which even highlights the issue right in its title, _Why English Won’t - and Can’t - Sit Still (Like, Literally)_, which offers a pretty good hint of the positions he’s taking. I don’t want to hijack this thread but it might be a worthy discussion for another time and place; for now, suffice it to say that his support of the figurative use of “literally” is largely based on the supposition that the language is full of contronyms just like that. In fact, however, a closer examination reveals that most of these so-called contronyms have entirely different kinds of etymologies, and have logical relationships rooted in logical origins. I find this argument like many of his others to be specious and unpersuasive. Intensifiers are fine; using one that conveys the exact opposite of the intended meaning can be fairly judged to be bad practice. tl;dr: It’s a matter of style and opinion. In mine, **Greg Charles** is right. 🙂 ---
**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 20, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289/41 "2017-10-20T17:42:06Z")
And, in mine, he’s wrong. Like I said, nobody’s changing their mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disrespect-a-verb/799289.md?page=3)