discontent
Americanadjective
noun
-
Also discontentment. lack of contentment; dissatisfaction.
- Synonyms:
- inquietude, uneasiness, displeasure, restlessness
-
a restless desire or craving for something one does not have.
-
a malcontent.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
Also called: discontentment. lack of contentment, as with one's condition or lot in life
-
a discontented person
adjective
verb
Related Words
See dissatisfaction.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of discontent
Explanation
When you experience discontent, you're not happy. You've been let down — either by others or by yourself. The word discontent is made up of dis, meaning "not," and content, "a state of peaceful happiness." So as an adjective, discontent means "not happy or peaceful," like the discontent Egyptian citizens who expressed their dissatisfaction with their country's leader by protesting and demanding he give up power. As a verb, discontent means "to make unhappy," like bad news that discontents you.
Vocabulary lists containing discontent
Power Prefix: dis-
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Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Of Mice and Men
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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.
Discontent over staffing, pay and other alleged workplace issues has pervaded the lab over the past two years, emails and other communications reviewed by The Times show.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2024
Discontent was simmering on Indiana University’s flagship campus long before the first tent went up in Dunn Meadow, the vast green space beside the student union in Bloomington.
From New York Times • May 2, 2024
Discontent among Ukrainian soldiers — once extremely rare and expressed only in private — is now more common and out in the open.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 17, 2023
Discontent has risen sharply since last spring, when costs began soaring and the value of the currency crashed against the dollar, hitting record lows in December.
From Washington Post • Jan. 10, 2023
The commons were beginning to murmur at the king’s administration; they had obtained neither the peace nor the diminished taxation Discontent of the commons. which they had been promised.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various
Definitions 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.
