discountenance
Americanverb (used with object)
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to disconcert, embarrass, or abash.
With his composure, he survived every attempt to discountenance him.
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to show disapproval of.
The teachers discountenanced smoking by the students.
noun
verb
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to make ashamed or confused
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to disapprove of
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of discountenance
First recorded in 1570–80; dis- 1 + countenance
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:
But when Hamilton pleaded a second time, Reverend Moore agreed, provided that if he lived, Hamilton would “employ all your influence in society to discountenance this barbarous custom.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2016
Dr. Fairfax skilled to discountenance indignities, replied: "I am standing here on my two feet—and here I stay!"
From Time Magazine Archive
With affability, not anger, does he discountenance the evildoer.
From Time Magazine Archive
They did not, as was generally reported, decide to discountenance Loucheur's efforts at an agreement with Britain.
From Time Magazine Archive
Respectable young men, charged to discountenance riotous abuse, began to join the procession at its outset, and this element was continually augmented.
From A Song of a Single Note A Love Story by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston
Colorado mine operators discountenanced the comparatively conservative United Mine Workers some time ago, introducing company unions to replace branches of the A. F. of L. subsidiary.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Board through its business conduct committee, has always discountenanced bear raids and manipulations of prices, and it again instructs that commit tee to take particularly vigorous measures to prevent such activities.
From Time Magazine Archive
When deprived of the regular Democratic nomination, he had firmly discountenanced a "McKee Anyway" movement.
From Time Magazine Archive
The same ship that carried discountenanced Warlord Chang Hsueh-liang and his 17 "secretaries" from Shanghai last week also bore Benito Mussolini's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italian Minister to China, going home for a vacation.
From Time Magazine Archive
Even Latimer himself was discountenanced for his apostolical freedoms, by inveighing against the gentry, who sent their sons to college, instead of educating them at home for the church.
From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Disraeli, Isaac
Several bond houses wrote back, politely but firmly discountenancing the notion of preferring stocks to bonds as investments.
From Time Magazine Archive
To Gabon's 6,000 Frenchmen that meant only one thing: the U.S. had been behind the abortive coup in hopes of discountenancing le grand Charles.
From Time Magazine Archive
He thus adopted a middle course, discountenancing alike the pedantry of the purists and the over-confident optimism of the vulgarists, who found in the uncouth popular speech all the material for a langue savante.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various
The length to which he dared go in discountenancing any restriction, even regarding his moral ideas, is illustrated in an incident related in his autobiography.*
From The Story of the Mormons, from the date of their origin to the year 1901 by Linn, William Alexander
This he did for the purpose of discountenancing and reprobating the cry that had been raised of "Peace and a large loaf."
From Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 2 by Hunt, Henry
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.
