discountenance

[dis-koun-tn-uh ns]

See more synonyms for discountenance on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), dis·coun·te·nanced, dis·coun·te·nanc·ing.

to disconcert, embarrass, or abash: With his composure, he survived every attempt to discountenance him.
to show disapproval of: The teachers discountenanced smoking by the students.

noun

disapproval; disapprobation.

Origin of discountenance

First recorded in 1570–80; dis-¹ + countenance

Related formsdis·coun·te·nanc·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for discountenance

discourage, deprecate, disapprove, disesteem, resist, disfavor, condemn, dispute, discomfit, discompose, chagrin, rattle, confuse, shame, abash, faze, humiliate, discommend

Examples from the Web for discountenance

Historical Examples of discountenance

If unhappily thrown among them, discountenance them to the utmost.
Advice to a Young Man upon First Going to Oxford
Edward Berens
As an Association they are pledged to discountenance just what I did.
Elizabeth Hobart at Exeter Hall
Jean K. Baird
All citizens are urged to discountenance the building of fires.
Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror
Richard Linthicum
He would not allow stone-flinging, because it was a habit of his to discountenance it.
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, Complete
George Meredith
Let them in their several stations encourage virtue and discountenance vice in others.
A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians, in the Middle and Higher Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity.
William Wilberforce

British Dictionary definitions for discountenance

discountenance

verb (tr)

to make ashamed or confused
to disapprove of

noun

disapproval

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for discountenance

"put to shame," 1570s, from Middle French descontenancer (16c.) "to abash," from des- (see dis-) + contenancer (see countenance).