Disagio
NOUN [masculine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
1. Physical discomfort, inconvenience
🇬🇧 Lack of comfort, an uncomfortable or unpleasant condition or situation.
🇮🇹 Mancanza di agi, condizione o situazione incomoda o spiacevole.
2. Emotional discomfort, awkwardness
🇬🇧 A feeling of embarrassment or difficulty in adapting to a situation or environment.
🇮🇹 Senso di imbarazzo, di difficoltà nell'adattarsi a una situazione o a un ambiente.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | il - un disagio | - |
| Plural | i - dei disagi | - |
Example sentences 💬
Il disagio dei pendolari è aumentato dopo la cancellazione dei treni.
Commuters' discomfort increased after the train cancellations.
Il disagio sociale nelle periferie è un problema serio.
Social distress in the suburbs is a serious problem.
I lavori in strada stanno causando notevoli disagi alla circolazione.
The roadworks are causing significant inconvenience to traffic.
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Idioms with disagio 🇮🇹
Essere a disagio
→ To be uncomfortable/ill at ease
Sono a disagio quando devo parlare in pubblico.
I’m ill at ease when I have to speak in public.
Sentirsi a disagio
→ To feel uncomfortable/ill at ease
Mi sentivo a disagio tra persone che non conoscevo.
I felt uncomfortable among people I didn't know.
Trovarsi a disagio
→ To find oneself ill at ease
Mi trovo a disagio in situazioni troppo formali.
I find myself ill at ease in overly formal situations.
Mettere a disagio
→ To make someone feel uncomfortable
Il suo comportamento mette a disagio tutti i presenti.
His behavior makes everyone present feel uncomfortable.
Vivere nel disagio
→ To live in hardship
Molte famiglie vivono nel disagio economico.
Many families live in economic hardship.
Forte disagio
→ Severe discomfort
La mancanza di riscaldamento ha causato forte disagio agli inquilini.
The lack of heating caused severe discomfort to the tenants.
(Che) disagio
→ Awkward
Durante il concerto il cantante si è dimenticato di essere in playback e ha provato a far cantare il pubblico. Che disagio!
During the concert, the singer forgot he was lip-syncing and tried to make the audience sing along. How awkward!
Note: very informal
Where does the word disagio come from? 🔎
Disagio combines the prefix dis- (indicating negation or separation) and agio. The history of this word is fascinating: agio comes from Old French aise (comfort), which in turn derives from the Latin adiacens, meaning "lying nearby". The original idea was about having everything "within reach" - consider when you're comfortably sitting on your couch and have everything you need nearby. Therefore, disagio literally means "not having things within reach", "not being in a comfortable situation".
