discourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit.
- Antonyms:
- encourage
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to dissuade (usually followed byfrom ).
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to obstruct by opposition or difficulty; hinder.
Low prices discourage industry.
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to express or make clear disapproval of; frown upon.
to discourage the expression of enthusiasm.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to deprive of the will to persist in something
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to inhibit; prevent
this solution discourages rust
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to oppose by expressing disapproval
Synonym Usage
Discourage, dismay, intimidate mean to dishearten or frighten. To discourage is to dishearten by expressing disapproval or by suggesting that a contemplated action or course will probably fail: He was discouraged from going into business. To dismay is to dishearten completely: Her husband's philandering dismayed her. To intimidate is to frighten, as by threats of force, violence, or dire consequences: to intimidate a witness.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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discouragementnoun
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discouragernoun
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overdiscourageverb (used with object)
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prediscourageverb (used with object)
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discourageableadjective
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undiscourageableadjective
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undiscouragingadjective
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discouraginglyadverb
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undiscouraginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discouragesimple
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discouragessimple
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have discouragedperfect
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has discouragedperfect
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am discouragingprogressive
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are discouragingprogressive
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is discouragingprogressive
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have been discouragingperfect progressive
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has been discouragingperfect progressive
Past
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discouragedsimple
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had discouragedperfect
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was discouragingprogressive
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were discouragingprogressive
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had been discouragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discourage
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English discoragen, from Middle French descorager, Old French descoragier; see dis- 1, courage
Explanation
If your friend is thinking about quitting her job and moving to the Peruvian Andes to raise llamas, you might discourage her by pointing out that she’s allergic to llamas and also afraid of heights. When you discourage someone, you try to talk them out of doing something, by pointing out reasons why their planned action would be unwise. The verb discourage has roots in the French word descouragier, which comes from des-, meaning “away,” and corage, or “courage.” So when you discourage someone, you can think of it as taking his courage — or enthusiasm — away.
Vocabulary lists containing discourage
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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.
See Examples For:
In this way and others, he says, professors may unwittingly discourage or alienate students.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
They said a variety of deterrents, including spikes and vapour-releasing gel pods to discourage roosting, were used as a first port of call.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
It’s also possible that the hints about export controls are diplomatic posturing by the Chinese government, intended to discourage the U.S. from imposing any restrictions on its technological freedoms.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
What the reforms would discourage is the strategic use of firings to immobilize the commissions themselves.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Still, if Ser Justin wished to court her favor with food and wine and words, Asha was not like to discourage him.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Yet the reliance on federal funding discourages regular Catholics from giving and doing as much as they might—after all, government is already on the job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Taxing buildings and land together at the same rate discourages precisely the activity cities most need, namely new construction and redevelopment.
From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026
However, colonoscopies -- the primary screening method used today -- can be costly and uncomfortable, which discourages many people from getting tested on time.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026
They highlight that restrictive zoning is largely to blame for underproduction relative to job growth and concur that rent control is counterproductive as it discourages the addition of supply, even with strong demand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
Abnegation discourages anything done strictly for my own enjoyment, and that is what this is: my lungs burning, my muscles aching, the fierce pleasure of a flat-out sprint.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
The secluded beauty spot sold at auction for £20,000 in September 2024 to Leisure Estate Investments Ltd, which has discouraged public access because of "inherent safety risks".
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The commission is not discouraged by any of this data.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
"We will never be discouraged, we will always fight," she told crowds at a party event at the weekend.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
With those numbers, it was only a matter of time before the line went from discouraged to permitted to everywhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
“Whenever I was discouraged, Leah always told me her motto,” he says.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
The discovery may be discouraging for agencies that have spent decades trying to contain Guam's brown tree snake population.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
The soaring costs of building materials, high interest rates, labor shortages and long waits for equipment are discouraging construction projects like Mitchell’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
It puts you in your place and, whether you realize it or not, it’s a subversive way of controlling the outcome and discouraging you from using your voice.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
The government has intensified actions to curb kidnapping, including introducing measures aimed at discouraging ransom payments.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
It took him a few difficult and sometimes discouraging years, but eventually he was winning the majority of his games.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
