: lack of satisfaction with one's possessions, status, or situation : lack of contentment:
a
: a sense of grievance : dissatisfaction
the winter of our discontent—
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
b
: restless aspiration (see aspiration sense 1a) for improvement
discontented; discontenting; discontents
: to make dissatisfied or discontented
were discontented by the decision
: one who is dissatisfied or discontented : malcontent
Synonyms
Examples of discontent in a Sentence
Adjective
Polls show that voters are growing increasingly discontent.
a novel about a woman who is desperately discontent with the stifling limitations of her small-town life
Noun (1)
the rebels worked to stir up discontent among the citizens
Verb
the ongoing lack of decent food discontented and demoralized the soldiers in the rebel army
Recent Examples on the WebManuel Veth, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
But many long-time moderators remain discontent, and some of the updates haven't materialized yet.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 4 Sep. 2023
Biden has also grappled with anemic approval and favorability ratings that suggest voters are discontent with both politicians.
—Fritz Farrow, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2023
Things got so bad that even the national government, which is battling sky-high inflation and an increasingly discontent society, found the time to intervene — only to retreat when its effort was mocked as a waste of government resources.
—Natalie Alcoba, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2022
Dacus: Mine is that Julien and Phoebe are way more willing to be discontent than me (and express that).
—Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2023
What there is in abundance, though, is discontent not just about the glacial rollout, but a poor communications strategy.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 16 Apr. 2021
But not everyone was discontent.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2022
There could already be discontent brewing in Green Bay’s locker room, as Rodgers appeared visibly frustrated with errors that his new receiving corps committed.
—Catena Media, al, 18 Sep. 2022
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Rather than move swiftly to address the sources of public discontent, Biden and his team have alternated between denial and spin.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 4 May 2024
Her promise to crack down on protesters seemed to mollify Republicans, at least temporarily, but deepened discontent on campus.
—Michael Levenson, New York Times, 8 May 2024
Given the general unpopularity of Biden, there is no reason to believe that students still smarting from the chaotic ending of this academic year will not reconvene to register their discontent.
—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
Lots of airline executives have been expressing their discontent with wait times to get their Boeing planes.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 7 May 2024
Protests at Ole Miss are the latest of dozens sweeping universities across the country as students voice their discontent with the country’s involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.
—Matthew Wright, TIME, 3 May 2024
With the presidential election six months away, many Americans have expressed discontent with the economy, notably over the pace of price increases.
—Christopher Rugaber, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2024
Demonstrations intensified on college campuses across the country over the last week, a sign of students' growing discontent over their schools' responses to the war in Gaza.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
If these issues are ignored, discontent with globalization will grow.
—Sam Palmisano, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2016
Hollman's death has contributed to discontent with police among some Atlantans that centers on a proposal to build a public safety training center.
—CBS News, 10 Oct. 2023
As a historical analogy, consider the Soviet Union, which collapsed, in part, because those who were discontented with the regime had no freedom to leave.
—Alexander Lebedev, Foreign Affairs, 22 Oct. 2014
Dozens of people traveled up to the Monday’s meeting in the state capital of Austin to voice their support or discontent with the plan.
—Valerie Gonzalez, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
Dozens of people traveled up to the Monday's meeting in the state capital of Austin to voice their support or discontent with the plan.
—Valerie Gonzalez, Quartz, 6 Mar. 2024
As Variety previously reported, several sources say the group, which also include Emma Stone and Ben Affleck, are feeling discontented within the guild ever since talks broke down with the studios.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023
Hollman's death has contributed to discontent with police among some Atlantans that centers on a proposal to build a large public safety training facility.
—CBS News, 10 Oct. 2023
Adjective
The decision to put an end date on Tuchel’s time at Bayern, in many ways, feels like a band-aid to calm down both the dressing room and also an increasingly discontent fan scene.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
But many long-time moderators remain discontent, and some of the updates haven't materialized yet.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 4 Sep. 2023
Biden has also grappled with anemic approval and favorability ratings that suggest voters are discontent with both politicians.
—Fritz Farrow, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2023
Things got so bad that even the national government, which is battling sky-high inflation and an increasingly discontent society, found the time to intervene — only to retreat when its effort was mocked as a waste of government resources.
—Natalie Alcoba, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2022
Dacus: Mine is that Julien and Phoebe are way more willing to be discontent than me (and express that).
—Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2023
What there is in abundance, though, is discontent not just about the glacial rollout, but a poor communications strategy.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 16 Apr. 2021
But not everyone was discontent.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2022
There could already be discontent brewing in Green Bay’s locker room, as Rodgers appeared visibly frustrated with errors that his new receiving corps committed.
—Catena Media, al, 18 Sep. 2022
Noun
The plays, which take place on remote family estates, feature characters whose more or less stoical discontent stems from having lived side by side with one another for so long.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Rather than move swiftly to address the sources of public discontent, Biden and his team have alternated between denial and spin.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 4 May 2024
Her promise to crack down on protesters seemed to mollify Republicans, at least temporarily, but deepened discontent on campus.
—Michael Levenson, New York Times, 8 May 2024
Given the general unpopularity of Biden, there is no reason to believe that students still smarting from the chaotic ending of this academic year will not reconvene to register their discontent.
—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
Lots of airline executives have been expressing their discontent with wait times to get their Boeing planes.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 7 May 2024
Protests at Ole Miss are the latest of dozens sweeping universities across the country as students voice their discontent with the country’s involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.
—Matthew Wright, TIME, 3 May 2024
With the presidential election six months away, many Americans have expressed discontent with the economy, notably over the pace of price increases.
—Christopher Rugaber, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2024
Demonstrations intensified on college campuses across the country over the last week, a sign of students' growing discontent over their schools' responses to the war in Gaza.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Verb
An increasingly authoritarian former Soviet republic, Tajikistan ranks among the world’s poorest countries, which fuels discontent and drives millions of migrant laborers to seek better lives abroad.
—Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
If these issues are ignored, discontent with globalization will grow.
—Sam Palmisano, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2016
Hollman's death has contributed to discontent with police among some Atlantans that centers on a proposal to build a public safety training center.
—CBS News, 10 Oct. 2023
As a historical analogy, consider the Soviet Union, which collapsed, in part, because those who were discontented with the regime had no freedom to leave.
—Alexander Lebedev, Foreign Affairs, 22 Oct. 2014
Dozens of people traveled up to the Monday’s meeting in the state capital of Austin to voice their support or discontent with the plan.
—Valerie Gonzalez, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
Dozens of people traveled up to the Monday's meeting in the state capital of Austin to voice their support or discontent with the plan.
—Valerie Gonzalez, Quartz, 6 Mar. 2024
As Variety previously reported, several sources say the group, which also include Emma Stone and Ben Affleck, are feeling discontented within the guild ever since talks broke down with the studios.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023
Hollman's death has contributed to discontent with police among some Atlantans that centers on a proposal to build a large public safety training facility.
—CBS News, 10 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discontent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near discontent
Cite this Entry
“Discontent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discontent. Accessed 13 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
discontent
1 of 3 adjective
dis·con·tent
ˌdis-kən-ˈtent 
discontent
2 of 3 verb
: to make discontented
discontentment
noun
-mənt
discontent
3 of 3 noun
: the condition of being dissatisfied
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