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
Synonym Usage
See dissatisfaction.
Other Word Forms
Derived 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 is also spreading among employees at Samsung affiliates including Samsung Display, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which are separately listed and offer significantly smaller bonuses.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Two decades later, the show took place with subdued lighting during 1972's Winter of Discontent, a period of widespread strikes, economic turmoil and regular power cuts.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2025
Discontent among Chinese workers, who worry about working harder for less economic gains, could garner anger towards the government or lead to social instability.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 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 is the natural result of starvation, and democratic newspapers and writers, who had never shown their faces in the place before, were in great demand.
From Crying for the Light, Vol. 1 [of 3] or Fifty Years Ago by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
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.
