disheartened
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disheartened
First recorded in 1610–20; dishearten ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective; dishearten ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb
Explanation
When you're disheartened, you feel discouraged or let down. It's easy to become disheartened if the grades on your report card don't reflect the hard work and dedication you exerted. You might be disheartened to read about the high unemployment rate in the newspaper, or disheartened by the way your carefully constructed rocket ship cake flopped. When you feel your spirits sink or your courage fail, you're disheartened. The first recorded use of the word dishearten showed up in Shakespeare's play Henry V, where he invented it to mean the opposite of hearten, or "encourage."
Vocabulary lists containing disheartened
Tuck Everlasting
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The Cay
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The Wishing Spell
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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.
Still, Nvidia investors are unlikely to be too disheartened after a recent breakout that driven up the stock 12% in the past five trading sessions.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
He speculated that scholars and Americans in general were too disheartened by Vietnam to want to contemplate a traumatic rupture like the Civil War.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Buchalter added that investors were likely more disheartened by Broadcom’s announcement of a fifth unnamed customer that it will deliver $1 billion of custom chips to late next year.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025
A pair of jeans could easily be a size 10 by one brand and a size 14 in another, leaving customers confused and disheartened.
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
Obviously disheartened, Chronicler spoke, “I’ll be the first to admit that my coming here may have been a mistake.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
