discontent
Americanadjective
noun
-
discontents
plural
-
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
Synonym Usage
See dissatisfaction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
discontentednessnoun
-
prediscontentnoun
-
prediscontentmentnoun
-
discontentedadjective
-
discontentedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
"You're playing with fire because if this move ends up adding to the anger and the discontent among so many there, then you have a very big problem on your hands."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Mamdani has so far brushed off the discontent from the left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
But the law has not stopped the spiralling prices and popular discontent.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Serbia's president has resigned after more than a year of student-led protests and growing public discontent over allegations of government corruption.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
A ripple of discontent and distrust ran through the crowd.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Always at the heart of these discontents was the battery—or batteries, because there has been a succession of them, an alchemist’s closet of energy-storing potions in weirdly shaped bottles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
But there are other discontents still in Moscow, and politically active.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2023
A sly, mordantly funny, at times brutal satire about altruism and its discontents, the movie offers something of an emotional workout.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
Like “Last Winter, We Parted,” “My Annihilation” is an examination of selfhood — or of selfhood’s discontents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2022
But men must work on, and Wang Lung worked as he had before, although the lengthening warm days and the sunshine and sudden rains filled everyone with longings and discontents.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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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.
