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
They did not, as was generally reported, decide to discountenance Loucheur's efforts at an agreement with Britain.
From Time Magazine Archive
American principles of fair play discountenance attempts to condemn a person by compelling him to disclose his own transgressions.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dr. Fairfax skilled to discountenance indignities, replied: "I am standing here on my two feet—and here I stay!"
From Time Magazine Archive
You seemed, sir, to discountenance feelings as not agreeable to sober, rational worship; but, if I am not mistaken, reason by no means clashes with feelings of various sorts in religion.
From Fletcher of Madeley by Macdonald, Frederic W.
Most charitable view of the matter is that Mr. Curtis, having discovered how his name was being used, discountenanced his henchmen.
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
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
A king of course can do no wrong; but amongst people of lower degree the habit should be discountenanced, both on the score of expense, and of decency.
From The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer A Page of Past History for the Use of the Children of To-day by Clynton, Richard
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
Several bond houses wrote back, politely but firmly discountenancing the notion of preferring stocks to bonds as investments.
From Time Magazine Archive
While thus discountenancing any intimacy between her daughter and the Emperor, she too died, and the princess was left parentless.
From Japanese Literature Including Selections from Genji Monogatari and Classical Poetry and Drama of Japan by Wilson, Epiphanius
The artist qualified the moralist by discountenancing any preference for the harsh, the sour, or the self-mortifying forms of virtue, and encouraging the love for all tender or heroic, glowing, generous, and cheerful forms.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 23 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis
This practice has of late years much diminished; owing, in a great measure, to the increased good feeling of naval officers, as also to the Admiralty discountenancing such strong measures, unless in most urgent cases.
From Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849 by Gilly, William O. S.
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.
