discourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
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discouraged,
past participle, past
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discouraging
present participle
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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)
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discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
discouraged,
past participle, past
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discouraging
present participle
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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"Curtis Aikens and the American Dream" and "Go For It!"
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List 4
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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:
For example, eliminating the tax cap could increase marginal tax rates on labor income in high-tax states, including New York, California and Oregon, which could discourage workers from earning more.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
“We are discussing the best way to discourage these larger brands to infiltrate possibly the very last place on the internet for genuine company reviews and feedback,” the moderator added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest are proposing major rule changes to discourage voting campaigns that aim to influence the results.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
As the algae decay, they can damage marine environments, threaten human and animal health, discourage tourism, and create financial losses for coastal communities.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
The price of the meal was set at a deliberately hefty fifteen shillings to discourage those whose qualifications were merely cerebral.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Canadian and Mexican officials as well as members of Congress saw this coming, warning during the original hearings that a mandatory review clause would create the uncertainty that discourages investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 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
While the manosphere discourages vulnerability, Khushal credits a "strong support system" and a focus on "empathy" for his own healing.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 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
Any system that constricts teachers—holds them to small-bore metrics, punishes them for forces outside their control, discourages their creativity and spontaneity, chips away at their humanity—is a bad system.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
But the head of the dig discouraged him from learning this "very difficult" script, which borrowed its cuneiform alphabet from Assyrian.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
New graduates lament that while their college professors discouraged the use of AI tools, hiring managers applaud it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
When I purchased a copy of Evie’s print magazine in May, I was alarmed at how the magazine not only promoted radical skinniness but also discouraged women from healthy habits like exercise.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Nearly all my cousins still live in O.C., buying homes on blue-collar salaries and seeing their children off to colleges we didn’t have the opportunity to attend because we were discouraged by our parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
“I gave everybody his name,” said Gaines in his office one day, obviously discouraged.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
That could undermine the vaccine’s financial viability, a de facto way of discouraging Moderna from continuing to market it.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Egypt's leaders have struck a cautious note since, warning against any "escalation" in the conflict and discouraging "speculation" while keeping a tight grip on the media narrative.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
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
But analysts say the soaring costs of construction materials, like steel and electrical gear, are further discouraging spending on projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
This is all so discouraging that I think we’ll leave it here and return to our two lonely heroes trudging through the lost world of the Chattahoochee.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
