disheartening
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of disheartening
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.
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
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
"You want to help… to go on the wards and see the mothers and babies, knowing that I might not be able to do this after I graduate, it's really disheartening."
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Jack Foreman, a third‑year student midwife from King's Lynn in Norfolk, said the situation was disheartening.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
It was both disheartening and worrisome to know we were out here alone with no hope of coming across someone to help us.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
