demoralize
Americanverb (used with object)
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demoralizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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demoralized,
past participle, past
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demoralizing
present participle
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to deprive (a person or persons) of spirit, courage, discipline, etc.; destroy the morale of.
The continuous barrage demoralized the infantry.
-
to throw (a person) into disorder or confusion; bewilder.
We were so demoralized by that one wrong turn that we were lost for hours.
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to corrupt or undermine the morals of.
verb
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to undermine the morale of; dishearten
he was demoralized by his defeat
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to debase morally; corrupt
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to throw into confusion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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demoralizesimple
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demoralizessimple
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have demoralizedperfect
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has demoralizedperfect
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am demoralizingprogressive
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are demoralizingprogressive
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is demoralizingprogressive
-
have been demoralizingperfect progressive
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has been demoralizingperfect progressive
Past
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demoralizedsimple
-
had demoralizedperfect
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was demoralizingprogressive
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were demoralizingprogressive
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had been demoralizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demoralize
From the French word démoraliser, dating back to 1785–95. See de-, moral, -ize
Explanation
If something demoralizes you, it makes you feel bad or hopeless. When your soccer team was trounced by the last-place team in the league, the loss seemed to demoralize everyone, from players to coaches to fans. Demoralize can also mean what it looks like, "to remove the morals of." For example, parents worry that R-rated movies will demoralize their children. In other words, they fear kids will lose their sense of what's right and wrong if they see glamorous actors indulging in bad behavior.
Vocabulary lists containing demoralize
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As a culture, we probably do create unreasonable, sentimental expectations around family that depress and demoralize vast numbers of people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
But the obvious goal is to demoralize federal workers across the board.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2025
A heavy loss of seats could demoralize the party faithful and panic Tory lawmakers, who fear that they will be tossed out of Parliament in the general election.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2024
Others, however, have said that such messaging may have no impact on behavior, or worse, that it may depress and demoralize the public into inaction.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2024
“I’m panicked. I just look like this to demoralize the competition.”
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
In a world that often demoralizes rural Americans, and Appalachians in particular, it is imperative that we understand the value of our experience.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2025
None of this really demoralizes Im, who knows as well as anybody that his park is a gigantic money sink.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
“He’s a competitive guy when he puts the skates on. And I think it demoralizes the other team a little bit. They’re trying to play him hard.”
From Washington Times ● Jan. 10, 2022
"I feel like that demoralizes a defense," said Thomas.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 24, 2012
In his desire to moralize he demoralizes; in his desire to sanctify one item of life, he casts aside, he overlooks, forgets, all that which in life is already possessed of holiness.
From Belcaro Being Essays on Sundry Aesthetical Questions by Vernon Lee
He said that while Walker was despondent about the change in their finances, his sister hadn’t seemed too demoralized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Now, after that latest detention, Garcia Venegas sounds demoralized.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
McKinney called her a “bully” in a recent interview and said her behavior has demoralized her staff.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
But he was dismayed by the abrupt layoffs in April that left FDA staff demoralized, he said, with some crying in the hallways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
When meaningful change fails to materialize following the achievement of superficial diversity, those who remain locked out can become extremely discouraged and demoralized, resulting in cynicism and resignation.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Challenges like adjusting to a new language or learning unfamiliar customs and eating different foods can prove exhausting and demoralizing.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The demoralizing loss sent the Lakers into a three-game tail spin one month before the playoffs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026
The findings about the bat bridges were demoralizing for Altringham, who during his career appeared at several public inquiries into the impact of road-building projects on bats.
From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026
The cost, while small, felt like what one worker described as the “cherry on top” of a demoralizing work culture beset by layoffs and overwhelming workloads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
The whole experience was unsettling and completely demoralizing.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
