What does mislike mean?
Mislike is a verb meaning to dislike something or someone, especially to regard a person, place, or course of action with clear aversion. Its grammatical structure is straightforward: it takes a direct object and forms the regular past tense misliked and the present participle misliking. Although it can convey dislike in the same broad sense as the much more familiar dislike, mislike has a more emphatic and literary tone. It is therefore well suited to formal discussion, narrative writing, or deliberately elevated language, but it may sound affected in ordinary conversation. The word is now uncommon, and speakers of modern English usually reach for dislike instead. Mislike should not be confused with a failed or mistaken act of liking; in established usage, it simply expresses the absence of liking, ranging from mild disapproval to active aversion.
verbTo dislike something or someone; to regard with aversion.
- To dislike something or someone; to regard with aversion.
"She misliked the prospect of speaking before so large an audience."
"The two brothers had misliked each other since childhood."
"Many critics misliked the novel, arguing that its central character was insufficiently developed."
Mislike belongs to the family of mis- words: it does not mean “like incorrectly,” but simply “not like at all.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mislike come from?
Mislike was formed in Middle English by combining the prefix mis- with like, in the sense of “to like.” The prefix originally conveyed error or incorrectness, but the resulting verb came to mean “to dislike” or “to regard with aversion.” It shares its root with like and related words such as likely, likeness, and alike.
Related word forms
How mislike is actually used
Mislike is much less common than dislike and now sounds literary or archaic. In contemporary English, dislike is normally the more natural choice.
Easily confused with mislike
Dislike is the common modern term, whereas mislike is a rarer, more literary equivalent expressing disapproval or aversion.