discourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
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discouraged,
past participle, past
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discouraging
present participle
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to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit.
- Antonyms:
- encourage
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to dissuade (usually followed byfrom ).
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to obstruct by opposition or difficulty; hinder.
Low prices discourage industry.
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to express or make clear disapproval of; frown upon.
to discourage the expression of enthusiasm.
verb (used without object)
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discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
discouraged,
past participle, past
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discouraging
present participle
verb
-
to deprive of the will to persist in something
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to inhibit; prevent
this solution discourages rust
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to oppose by expressing disapproval
Synonym Usage
Discourage, dismay, intimidate mean to dishearten or frighten. To discourage is to dishearten by expressing disapproval or by suggesting that a contemplated action or course will probably fail: He was discouraged from going into business. To dismay is to dishearten completely: Her husband's philandering dismayed her. To intimidate is to frighten, as by threats of force, violence, or dire consequences: to intimidate a witness.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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discouragementnoun
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discouragernoun
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overdiscourageverb (used with object)
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prediscourageverb (used with object)
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discourageableadjective
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undiscourageableadjective
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undiscouragingadjective
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discouraginglyadverb
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undiscouraginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discouragesimple
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discouragessimple
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have discouragedperfect
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has discouragedperfect
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am discouragingprogressive
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are discouragingprogressive
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is discouragingprogressive
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have been discouragingperfect progressive
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has been discouragingperfect progressive
Past
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discouragedsimple
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had discouragedperfect
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was discouragingprogressive
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were discouragingprogressive
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had been discouragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discourage
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English discoragen, from Middle French descorager, Old French descoragier; see dis- 1, courage
Explanation
If your friend is thinking about quitting her job and moving to the Peruvian Andes to raise llamas, you might discourage her by pointing out that she’s allergic to llamas and also afraid of heights. When you discourage someone, you try to talk them out of doing something, by pointing out reasons why their planned action would be unwise. The verb discourage has roots in the French word descouragier, which comes from des-, meaning “away,” and corage, or “courage.” So when you discourage someone, you can think of it as taking his courage — or enthusiasm — away.
Vocabulary lists containing discourage
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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:
Organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest are proposing major rule changes to discourage voting campaigns that aim to influence the results.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The fear of losing a home can also discourage people from applying for Medicaid, causing them to delay or go without necessary care services.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
As the algae decay, they can damage marine environments, threaten human and animal health, discourage tourism, and create financial losses for coastal communities.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Business leaders worry such measures will discourage foreign investment and blow an even bigger hole in the country’s public finances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
"Your drink, madame," I said, handing her a glass and hoping the fresh drink would discourage any new ideas.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
“Almost perfect” is exactly the kind of reliability that discourages backup plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Taxing buildings and land together at the same rate discourages precisely the activity cities most need, namely new construction and redevelopment.
From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026
However, colonoscopies -- the primary screening method used today -- can be costly and uncomfortable, which discourages many people from getting tested on time.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026
They highlight that restrictive zoning is largely to blame for underproduction relative to job growth and concur that rent control is counterproductive as it discourages the addition of supply, even with strong demand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
The prospect of fording this /aife-colored torrent discourages most people from traveling any farther.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
But the head of the dig discouraged him from learning this "very difficult" script, which borrowed its cuneiform alphabet from Assyrian.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
New graduates lament that while their college professors discouraged the use of AI tools, hiring managers applaud it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
When I purchased a copy of Evie’s print magazine in May, I was alarmed at how the magazine not only promoted radical skinniness but also discouraged women from healthy habits like exercise.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
The riches that can be made have discouraged providers from joining insurer networks, which ironically was one of the surprise billing law’s goals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It would be easy to feel discouraged here, in the place Grandma Edith and Uncle Theo returned to after Mom was taken from them.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
That could undermine the vaccine’s financial viability, a de facto way of discouraging Moderna from continuing to market it.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the U.S., regulation can protect incumbents while discouraging entrepreneurs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
“Those are some of the things that lets some of the air out of the balloon by discouraging borrowing and crimping consumption and investment.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The discovery may be discouraging for agencies that have spent decades trying to contain Guam's brown tree snake population.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Day after day they turned in discouraging times.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
