What does disincline mean?
To disincline someone is to make them unwilling or reluctant to act — to turn their mind against a course of action without necessarily forbidding it. A disappointing experience may disincline you to repeat it; a speaker's arrogance may disincline listeners to trust her. The word derives from Latin roots meaning 'to lean away,' making it the precise opposite of incline, which means to lean toward or favor something. In contemporary English, disincline appears chiefly in formal writing and speech, and by far its most common form is the adjective disinclined, as in 'she was disinclined to comment.' It suggests measured reluctance rather than hostility: a disinclined person hesitates, weighs the matter unfavorably, and quietly declines, rather than objecting loudly. The corresponding noun, disinclination, names the state of unwillingness itself. Though somewhat old-fashioned in flavor, the word remains useful for expressing polite, considered resistance — a subtlety that plainer alternatives like refuse or refuse-to cannot capture.
verbTo make someone unwilling or reluctant to do something; to cause a lack of willingness or desire.
- To make someone unwilling or reluctant to do something; to dispose against an action.
"The prospect of another three-hour meeting disinclined her to accept the promotion."
"The company's evasive answers disinclined the regulators to grant an extension."
"I would be disinclined to lend money to anyone who refuses to put the terms in writing."
Disinclination is one of the few words where the 'dis-' prefix flips a verb into its exact opposite — and yet we far more often say we're 'not inclined' than that we've been 'disinclined.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disincline
Disincline entered English in the early seventeenth century, formed from the prefix dis- ('away, apart') combined with incline, which comes from the Latin inclinare, 'to lean or bend toward,' ultimately built on the root clinare, 'to bend or lean.' The same Latin root gave English a whole family of leaning words, including decline ('lean away'), recline ('lean back'), and, more distantly through related Romance forms, proclivity ('a leaning toward'). The word thus literally means 'to lean someone away' from an action.
Related word forms
How disincline is actually used
Formal in register and relatively rare in everyday speech; most modern usage is adjectival ('be disinclined to') rather than verbal, often appearing in official correspondence, journalism, and legal contexts. It carries a neutral, slightly understated connotation of reluctance rather than outright refusal.
Easily confused with disincline
Incline means to make someone willing or disposed toward something — the direct opposite of disincline, which makes them unwilling.