demoralize
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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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
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have been demoralizingperfect progressive
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has been demoralizingperfect progressive
Past
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demoralizedsimple
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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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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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The Secret Life of Bees
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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
Dancers accused Star Garden management of introducing arbitrary rules and implementing high drink prices and cover fees in bad faith in an effort to deter customers, demoralize dancers and weaken resolve in contract negotiations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
They were younger, coarser men who enforced every niggling regulation, whose job was to harass and demoralize us.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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
How can someone who loves you be okay with leaving things around for you to clean up, knowing it demoralizes you?
From Washington Post ● Jul. 26, 2021
She comforted me by saying: "But after all, how much better that was than if he had announced, 'Kate Sanborn demoralizes.'"
From Memories and Anecdotes by Sanborn, Kate
Now, after that latest detention, Garcia Venegas sounds demoralized.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
Churchill wrote “My Early Life” for a generation demoralized by World War I and determined to break with its past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
For this reason, according to the researchers, investors who are fans of a losing team will be more demoralized than the winning team’s fans will be exuberant.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026
“We were fragmented and demoralized, and then someone came along and imprisoned the person responsible for all of that,” Suárez said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2026
Many of his soldiers looked so demoralized that they were liable to make a run for it and desert.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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
Other times, the long wait for permanent housing proves demoralizing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
Inside the Justice Department, the resolution was demoralizing: “He’s admitted he owes money, and we get money, but everything else about it stinks to high heaven,” said a current DOJ official familiar with the case.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026
Interviewing is such a demoralizing process, especially when you get those sort of rug-pull questions.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026
I mean the insidious, demoralizing fear of betrayal, of treachery, of cruelty, of being silenced.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
