A friend of mine for whom English is a second language told me that I am the only person he knows who uses the word "dislike", and asked me what the difference was from saying that I "don't like" something. I answered that they were the same, but that "dislike" might be more formal… but it occurred to me that I was not totally confident with this answer.
Is there a difference between "I dislike that" and "I don't like that" besides the former being more formal?
Best Answer
Saying that you dislike something means you have a distaste for or hostility towards it.
When you don't like something, it means that you would prefer something else over it. You would want this to not happen.
Source: Apple's dictionary.
'Don't like' means that even though you would prefer the other thing you can still adjust to this happening. But saying that you 'dislike' means that you will be really unhappy if the thing that you disliked, happens.
Update: Happen to find another similar question.