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Glite Dictionary
disobliging

disobliging

1 8.1
Not willing to help others or do them favors
  • adjective
  • /ˌdɪsəˈblaɪdʒɪŋ/
translation icon : desatento
  • I'm sorry to have been so disobliging in the past.

Examples

  • She's "ornery and crabby and disobliging and (she) bites."

    Blog text (29)

  • ♪ The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious beast ♪ ♪ My disobliging ways Is a matter of habit ♪ Hey there.

    Cats (2019)

  • His disobliging attitude made it difficult for his friends to ask for help.

  • The manager's disobliging response to our request left us feeling frustrated.

  • She was disobliging when her co-workers needed assistance with their tasks.

Synonyms

uncooperative
vsdisobliging
22 4.5

Not willing to help or work with others

is focused on refusing favors deliberately rather than failing teamwork
unobliging
vsdisobliging
7.8

Not willing to help others or do small favors

is deliberately unhelpful rather than merely unwilling to assist
unaccommodating
vsdisobliging
7.0

Not willing to help or change plans for others

is intentionally unhelpful rather than simply inflexible or rigid

Antonyms

accommodating
17 4.8

Willing to help others and change plans for them

How Unhelpful

obstructive
6 6.2
uncooperative
22 4.5
disobliging
1 8.1
unhelpful
17 3.0

Surface Forms

disobliging positive

Morphology

disobliging = obliging (semi-transparent) = dis + oblige + ing

For learners who know 'obliging', adding 'dis-' clearly gives the opposite meaning 'not obliging' or 'unhelpful'.

Etymology

The word disobliging starts with dis- meaning 'not' and ends with oblige meaning 'to do a favor', as in obligation, so disobliging simply means someone who is 'not' willing to help or do favors.