discouraged
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
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.
-
disapproved of.
Climbing on the safety railing is a strongly discouraged activity.
We consider payday lenders to be a discouraged industry.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of discouraged
Explanation
If you work and work on a project and never seem to make any progress, you may feel discouraged, meaning your enthusiasm and optimism have been replaced by doubt and negativity. If you’ve ever felt discouraged, you won’t be surprised to learn that the word’s French origins refer to courage that has being taken away. The adjective describes people who no longer feel that good things will happen, such as discouraged job-seekers, who despite sending hundreds of applications to prospective employers, never get any responses. They may have "lost the courage" to keep looking for work.
Vocabulary lists containing discouraged
List 2
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"Lunch or Junk?" and "Food Deserts"
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List 3
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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.
Discouraged by the reception given to Smile, and beset by mental illness, Brian Wilson pulled the plug on this work-in-progress in 1967.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2025
Discouraged, Salinas left Boise State in April to become dean of equity, diversity and inclusion at Spokane Falls Community College in Washington.
From Salon • Jun. 29, 2022
Discouraged, he quit music and spent decades as a member of Detroit’s working class, unaware that his albums had been discovered and championed by an army of enthusiastic fans in South Africa.
From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2020
Discouraged by the lack of commitment from the fighters in his stable, he had stepped away from the sport years earlier.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2018
Discouraged and depressed, he took refuge in a little shack on the island of Pharos.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
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.
