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Glite Dictionary
disutility

disutility

8.8
Harm that a person suffers from an action or choice
  • noun
  • /ˌdɪsjuˈtɪləti/
  • Specialized
translation icon : desutilidad
  • The child receives utility from consumption and disutility from expending effort in the workplace.
  • disutility costs

It involves bringing somebody into a state that brings disutility to them.

Examples

  • However, the study from Finland did not specify QoL related to relapse with and without hospitalizations. Findings from studies suggest greater disutility for relapse with hospitalization compared with relapses without hospitalization.

    Academic text (2016)

  • This resemblance supports the theory that anticipated guilt functions as a disutility, adding the cost of letting a partner down to one's effort to maximize utility.

    Academic text (2016)

  • It involves bringing somebody into a state that brings disutility to them.

    YaleCourses

  • Along the way, he gives a startling analysis of the marginal disutility of tools.

    Blog text (15)

  • Second, the experience of being detained might change offender perceptions of the disutility of confinement.

    Academic text (2017)

  • This is because labor is considered a disutility while all output is considered a utility; hosts of efficiency experts work hard at reducing the ratio of labor to output without the slightest regard for social consequences.

    Academic text (1992)

  • What matters to the state being targeted for deterrence or sanction is its comparative disutility for compliance versus noncompliance, not the severity of the deterrence or sanction threat.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The decision to close the factory created significant disutility for the local community as many lost their jobs.

  • Choosing to drive instead of taking public transport often leads to increased disutility due to traffic congestion.

  • Many people feel disutility when they realize that a popular diet does not yield the promised results.

Synonyms

downside
vsdisutility
131 3.6

A bad part of something that is usually good

can mean any harm or disadvantage not only those paired with positives
harmfulness
vsdisutility
1 4.8

How much something can hurt people, animals, or things

covers negative value or disadvantage beyond mere capacity to cause harm
disvalue
vsdisutility
8.6

A loss in worth or importance

is broader and covers harm or disadvantage beyond simple loss of worth
undesirability
vsdisutility
6.6

A situation where something is not wanted and should be avoided

is about negative outcome or harm rather than mere dislike

Antonyms

to benefit
676 2.3

To help someone or be helped by something

utility
63 3.5

The quality of being useful for a particular purpose

How Harmful

catastrophe
176 7.0
harm
820 1.0
disutility
  • Specialized
8.8
inconvenience
107 4.3

Surface Forms

disutility singular
disutilities plural

Morphology

disutility = utility (semi-transparent) = dis + util + ity

The prefix 'dis-' clearly signals a negative or opposite value relative to 'utility', but the noun is often used in a specialized economic sense rather than simple everyday 'lack of usefulness'.

Etymology

The word disutility is made of the part dis- meaning 'not' and utility meaning 'use' or 'usefulness'. So disutility is the 'not-use' side of a choice, meaning the harm or negative value that comes from an action.