disheartening

American

[dis-hahr-tn-ing] / dɪsˈhɑr tn ɪŋ /

adjective

depressing a person’s hope, courage, or spirits; discouraging.

It's been disheartening to see some of her old habits and fears returning, even though they aren't as bad as when she was much younger.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

dishearteningly

adverb

Etymology

Origin of disheartening

dishearten ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

Something disheartening causes you to lose your confidence or enthusiasm. It's disheartening when your basketball team loses four games in a row. Breaking disheartening down to its parts, you can see the dis- prefix, meaning "not" or "take away," and the figurative heart, "good feelings or courage." While a heartening message from your pen pal cheers you up, anything disheartening does the opposite. A disheartening grade on your big English paper brings you down, and disheartening news can make your whole family feel a little depressed. If it's disheartening, it's a bummer.

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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.

Shelly Corbin, a Native American activist who participated in the “Reimagining” meetings, found the federal suit disheartening.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

He described it as "disheartening" seeing people ruin land in the Gower area which he said was a beautiful place.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Sabbir’s transmission drew a disheartening response: “The area,” an Iranian official explained to him, was “very dangerous and a red zone.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

The most disheartening aspect of Mr. Pielke’s op-ed is that his peer-reviewed efforts to correct the record were met with silence.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

Finally, one hot afternoon, after another disheartening interview in Laurelhurst, Joyce decided simply to start knocking on doors.

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