discouragement
Americannoun
-
an act or instance of discouraging.
- Antonyms:
- encouragement
-
the state of being discouraged.
- Synonyms:
- hopelessness, dejection, depression
- Antonyms:
- encouragement
-
something that discourages.
Poor health and poverty are grave discouragements.
- Synonyms:
- obstruction, obstacle, impediment, damper, deterrent
- Antonyms:
- encouragement
Synonym Usage
See despair.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of discouragement
1555–65; < Middle French descouragement, Old French descoragement. See discourage, -ment
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:
That mix of discouragement and discontent surfaced repeatedly, like a dull ache, in conversations with dozens of voters across the San Gabriel Valley.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026
While ChatGPT occasionally offered discouragement, only the chatbots from Snap and Anthropic reliably refused these requests, according to the researchers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
They got 40 before discouragement, exhaustion, and, eventually, a torrential downpour forced the group to disband.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2024
Takes landing on the “not-so-good” side of the plate are accompanied by his passionate discouragement from leaving bad reviews based on his evaluations.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2023
What made me keep on climbing in face of such discouragement, I don’t know, but I did, and that noon I had crow eggs and wild salad for lunch.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Now his experimentalism and transnationalism aren’t discouragements but invitations to a larger global audience.
From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
We shouldn't let our current discouragements lead us to think that progress doesn't exist or that it's not possible.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2022
A player who understands the disappointments and discouragements that not just Capitals fans, but a generation of Washington fans carry deep in their hearts.
From Washington Times ● May 6, 2018
This comes on top of other discouragements to growth.
From Economist ● Mar. 1, 2018
He had now held out three times three years, and that through unprecedented trials and discouragements.
From Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler His Life and Work by Alexander, Rev. Gross
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.
