discourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit.
- Antonyms:
- encourage
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to dissuade (usually followed byfrom ).
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to obstruct by opposition or difficulty; hinder.
Low prices discourage industry.
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to express or make clear disapproval of; frown upon.
to discourage the expression of enthusiasm.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to deprive of the will to persist in something
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to inhibit; prevent
this solution discourages rust
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to oppose by expressing disapproval
Related Words
Discourage, dismay, intimidate mean to dishearten or frighten. To discourage is to dishearten by expressing disapproval or by suggesting that a contemplated action or course will probably fail: He was discouraged from going into business. To dismay is to dishearten completely: Her husband's philandering dismayed her. To intimidate is to frighten, as by threats of force, violence, or dire consequences: to intimidate a witness.
Other Word Forms
- discourageable adjective
- discouragement noun
- discourager noun
- discouragingly adverb
- overdiscourage verb (used with object)
- prediscourage verb (used with object)
- undiscourageable adjective
- undiscouraging adjective
- undiscouragingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of discourage
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English discoragen, from Middle French descorager, Old French descoragier; dis- 1, courage
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.
My office has approved every single Compassionate Use request that has come to us, and we are constantly thinking of ways to remove barriers that discourage companies from participating.
This warps market incentives, discourages fair competition, and introduces long-term risk to private capital.
"That again is going to be very much a fact of discouraging businesses from trading at the levels they have in in the US market," he said.
From BBC
It has also said that it trains ChatGPT to discourage imminent real-world harm when it identifies a dangerous situation and to refuse to help people that are attempting to use the service for illegal activities.
From BBC
While it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site, it could have "been used better or differently", the 53-year-old office assistant told AFP.
From Barron'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.
