discourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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discourages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
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:
Drugmakers can use that leverage to discourage coverage of cheaper biosimilar competitors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Such obstinacy only serves to discourage personal improvement.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
“People interpreted it that we’re trying to discourage all whistleblowers by the way we went about this prosecution,” Hochman said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
So to discourage them from congregating, simply provide less food.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
The warehouse was in a newly built industrial section of Compton, far enough from coffee shops and hot dog stands to discourage most of us from going out to eat.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
“Businesses are concerned about long-term shortages of energy supply, and this discourages investment and weakens the effect of government stimuli,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
McReynolds said allowing taxis into bus lanes "slows buses, discourages public transport use and undermines sustainable transport options".
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
U.S. military officers are immersed, from the time they’re cadets, in a culture that respects civilian control and discourages getting involved in politics.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 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
According to people briefed on that discussion, Ratcliffe discouraged Russian escalation, warned about the growing difficulties Moscow is encountering on the front line and pushed for a restart to the long-stalled peace process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Entertainment events are restricted and even the use of electricity is discouraged.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Condominium buying recently fell to a 20-year low as potential buyers have been discouraged by high interest rates and building fees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
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
The rally at his school had been a failure, and he didn’t know how many people would be discouraged from future protests because of what had happened on campus.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
It said additional charges risked undermining international competitiveness and discouraging domestic breaks, particularly for families and young people.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 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
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
Al Ulbrickson generally made a point of discouraging anyone in the crew house from reading the sports pages during the school year.
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
