discourage
Americanverb (used with object)
-
discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
discouraged,
past participle, past
-
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
-
discouraging
present participle
verb
-
to deprive of the will to persist in something
-
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:
Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan -- who has been among the frontrunners in the five previous polls -- received the most "encourage" votes this time, but also got five "discourage" votes, including two from permanent members.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The WHO has warned that stigma surrounding Ebola could discourage people from reporting symptoms or seeking medical care, potentially allowing the virus to spread undetected.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
“My sense is that the process was designed to discourage small businesses from seeking refunds,” said Swanson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
PG&E spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said similarly that the utility is concerned the law will discourage the investments needed to accommodate rising electricity demand and stabilize rates and affordability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
I stood to discourage further talk and he got up, fairly bursting to continue.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Both processes could potentially help create an intestinal environment that discourages certain harmful bacteria and infections.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
"They work by absorbing fluid from superficial spots while creating a protective barrier that discourages picking," she explains.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Criminalising suicide attempts discourages people from seeking urgent help, said Kingsley Okonoda, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Jos.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
It’s a grim idea, that our hope is in a tool that discourages in-depth reading and a long-shot hypothetical strategy—both of which rely on technology known for sowing confusion.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 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
“I think the greatest danger we have in this moment is being demoralized and being discouraged and not claiming our power — our vote is our power.”
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
A growing number of universities, from Yale to Cornell, have either banned or discouraged faculty reliance on AI detection tools as the primary evidence of alleged cheating.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The coming months will show whether travelers might be discouraged from traveling due to geopolitical instability, IATA’s Marie Owens Thomsen says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
“And it’s probably causing the market to be a little bit more discouraged that we have got a grip,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
But as time went by and no breaks came along, the investigator became discouraged.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Conventional wisdom suggests such discouraging numbers would depress turnout.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
The sight of vacant shops and graffiti can quickly become a vicious circle, deterring shoppers, discouraging investment and leading to anti-social behaviour.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Retailers’ quest to drive down returns could wind up discouraging shoppers from buying in the first place.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Lieu expressed concern that security perimeters would be so large during the Games that drop-off points would be even more distant, necessitating walks of up to half an hour, discouraging fans from taking buses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
