I. dis ‧ ad ‧ van ‧ tage 1 /ˌdɪsədˈvɑːntɪdʒ $ -ˈvæn-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ advantage ≠ ↑ disadvantage , the disadvantaged; adjective : ↑ advantageous ≠ ↑ disadvantageous , ↑ advantaged ≠ ↑ disadvantaged ; verb : ↑ disadvantage ; adverb : ↑ advantageously ≠ ↑ disadvantageously ]
something that causes problems, or that makes someone or something less likely to be successful or effective OPP advantage
disadvantage of
The disadvantage of the material is that it fades in strong sunlight.
disadvantage to
There are some big disadvantages to marriage – you do lose a lot of your freedom.
Criminal behaviour can be linked to economic disadvantage.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ the main disadvantage
The main disadvantage of iron as a material is its weight.
▪ a big/great/major disadvantage
This method has one major disadvantage: its cost.
▪ a serious/severe disadvantage
Public transport is very bad here, which is a serious disadvantage.
▪ a slight/minor disadvantage
Children who are young in their school year sometimes have a slight disadvantage.
▪ a further/additional/added disadvantage
It’s a very small garden and it has the further disadvantage of facing north.
▪ social/economic/educational disadvantage
Unemployment often leads to social disadvantage.
■ verbs
▪ have a disadvantage
Cheap air travel has considerable environmental disadvantages.
▪ suffer (from) a disadvantage formal
Working-class boys suffer disadvantages in the educational system.
▪ overcome a disadvantage (=succeed in spite of a disadvantage)
She was able to overcome the disadvantages of race and poverty.
■ phrases
▪ somebody is at a disadvantage (=someone has a disadvantage)
The company was at a disadvantage compared with its competitors.
▪ put/place somebody at a disadvantage (=make someone less likely to be successful than others)
Not speaking English might put you at a disadvantage.
▪ be/work to the disadvantage of somebody (=make someone unlikely to be successful)
This system works to the disadvantage of women.
▪ advantages and disadvantages (=the good and bad features of something)
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working from home.
▪ the advantages outweigh the disadvantages (=there are more advantages than disadvantages)
The advantages of building the new road would outweigh the disadvantages.
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THESAURUS
▪ disadvantage noun [countable] a bad feature that something has, which makes it less good or less useful than other things:
What do you think are the disadvantages of nuclear energy?
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This car uses a lot of fuel, which is a major disadvantage.
▪ drawback noun [countable] a bad feature that something has, although it has advantages that are usually more important:
One of the main drawbacks is the price.
▪ bad point noun [countable] especially spoken a bad feature that something has:
All of these designs have both their good points and bad points.
▪ the downside noun [singular] the disadvantage of a situation that in most other ways seems good or enjoyable:
It’s a great job. The only downside is that I don’t get much free time.
II. disadvantage 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ advantage ≠ ↑ disadvantage , the disadvantaged; adjective : ↑ advantageous ≠ ↑ disadvantageous , ↑ advantaged ≠ ↑ disadvantaged ; verb : ↑ disadvantage ; adverb : ↑ advantageously ≠ ↑ disadvantageously ]
to make someone less likely to be successful or to put them in a worse situation than others