discouraged

[dih-skur-ijd, -skuhr-]

adjective

1. deprived of or lacking in courage, hope, or confidence.

   The discouraged writer discarded the poem, but it was retrieved by a young soldier who sent it off for publication.

   Another discouraged mother reported that she had no friends with whom to share childcare duties.

2. dissuaded or obstructed from doing something.

   A third of the discouraged firms would probably have qualified for loans had they applied.

   A discouraged worker is one who wants to work but is not looking for a job because of a perceived lack of demand.

3. disapproved of.

   Climbing on the safety railing is a strongly discouraged activity.

   We consider payday lenders to be a discouraged industry.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of discourage.

Other Word Forms

• undiscouraged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of discouraged¹

discourage ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Reagan Conrad, who hosts “The Comments Section” podcast for the Daily Wire, discouraged egg freezing.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"When I first spoke to scientists at the Cardamom Research Institute, they discouraged me. They said cardamom is too sensitive and difficult to grow organically."

Read more on BBC

Ama, however, doesn’t seem discouraged or flustered by the news of her own death.

Read more on Literature

But instead of being discouraged, he left for the shipwreck site determined to prove the “experts” wrong.

Read more on Literature

The air quality in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires discouraged car owners from taking their vehicles in for a wash since they would get filthy again so quickly.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crestfallen 
• depressed 
• dismayed 
• pessimistic