discourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
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discouraged,
past participle, past
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discouraging
present participle
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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)
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discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
discouraged,
past participle, past
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discouraging
present participle
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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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discouragementnoun
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discouragernoun
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overdiscourageverb (used with object)
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prediscourageverb (used with object)
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discourageableadjective
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undiscourageableadjective
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undiscouragingadjective
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discouraginglyadverb
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undiscouraginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discouragesimple
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discouragessimple
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have discouragedperfect
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has discouragedperfect
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am discouragingprogressive
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are discouragingprogressive
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is discouragingprogressive
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have been discouragingperfect progressive
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has been discouragingperfect progressive
Past
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discouragedsimple
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had discouragedperfect
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was discouragingprogressive
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were discouragingprogressive
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had been discouragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discourage
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English discoragen, from Middle French descorager, Old French descoragier; see dis- 1, courage
Explanation
If your friend is thinking about quitting her job and moving to the Peruvian Andes to raise llamas, you might discourage her by pointing out that she’s allergic to llamas and also afraid of heights. When you discourage someone, you try to talk them out of doing something, by pointing out reasons why their planned action would be unwise. The verb discourage has roots in the French word descouragier, which comes from des-, meaning “away,” and corage, or “courage.” So when you discourage someone, you can think of it as taking his courage — or enthusiasm — away.
Vocabulary lists containing discourage
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"Curtis Aikens and the American Dream" and "Go For It!"
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List 4
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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.
See Examples For:
PG&E spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said similarly that the utility is concerned the law will discourage the investments needed to accommodate rising electricity demand and stabilize rates and affordability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Boor emphasizes that the goal is to help consumers make informed choices rather than discourage cleaning.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
“I gotta ask you something—it sounds like you’re trying to discourage me—are you?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
"Our teams undertake regular training and refresher programmes, and we have introduced additional warning signage on bins to discourage people from entering them," it said.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The wooden horse had been made, he said, as a votive offering to Athena, and the reason for its immense size was to discourage the Trojans from taking it into the city.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Both processes could potentially help create an intestinal environment that discourages certain harmful bacteria and infections.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
"They work by absorbing fluid from superficial spots while creating a protective barrier that discourages picking," she explains.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
It’s a grim idea, that our hope is in a tool that discourages in-depth reading and a long-shot hypothetical strategy—both of which rely on technology known for sowing confusion.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Canadian and Mexican officials as well as members of Congress saw this coming, warning during the original hearings that a mandatory review clause would create the uncertainty that discourages investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The prospect of fording this /aife-colored torrent discourages most people from traveling any farther.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
A growing number of universities, from Yale to Cornell, have either banned or discouraged faculty reliance on AI detection tools as the primary evidence of alleged cheating.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
They were getting discouraged when no potential buyers showed up.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Don't be discouraged if your network is small as "not having a network right now doesn't mean you'll never have a network", she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
“That’s what happens when you feel discouraged or like nothing’s going to change.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Styx stayed chill, but underneath it he must’ve been a little discouraged.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
DollyFest organiser Danny Nozell, the founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises, said the estate is not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in whatever ways they choose, but Parton did not want a traditional memorial.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Lieu expressed concern that security perimeters would be so large during the Games that drop-off points would be even more distant, necessitating walks of up to half an hour, discouraging fans from taking buses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
That could undermine the vaccine’s financial viability, a de facto way of discouraging Moderna from continuing to market it.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the U.S., regulation can protect incumbents while discouraging entrepreneurs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Day after day they turned in discouraging times.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
