discourage

verb

dis·cour·age | \ di-ˈskər-ij

, -ˈskə-rij\

discouraged; discouraging

Definition of discourage

transitive verb

1 : to deprive of courage or confidence : dishearten was discouraged by repeated failure

2a : to hinder by disfavoring trying to discourage absenteeism

b : to dissuade or attempt to dissuade from doing something tried to discourage her from going

Other Words from discourage Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about discourage

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Other Words from discourage

discourageable \ di-ˈskər-i-jə-bəl

, -ˈskə-ri- \ adjective

discourager noun

discouragingly \ di-ˈskər-i-jiŋ-lē

, -ˈkə-ri- \ adverb

Examples of discourage in a Sentence

Try not to let losing discourage you. The area's dry climate discourages agriculture. He claims the new regulations will discourage investment. That type of behavior ought to be discouraged.

Recent Examples on the Web

Apple has quietly added a feature that discourages iPhone owners from using a third-party repair company to fix their batteries. — Don Reisinger, Fortune, "Apple Is Hobbling iPhones With Batteries Replaced Outside of Authorized Repair Shops. Is That Even Legal?," 9 Aug. 2019 Regulators might consider adding extra fees that discourage airlines from planning flight paths with a higher chance of creating contrails that have a warming effect, such as night flights over the ocean, Rosenow says. — NBC News, "Do airplane contrails add to climate change? Yes, and the problem is about to get worse.," 28 July 2019 Election law experts have proposed changes that would discourage scam PACs by broadening anti-fraud provisions in federal election law or enacting an anti-self-dealing provision that prohibits PAC operators from turning an excessive profit. — Derek Willis, ProPublica, "How Fundraisers Convinced Conservatives to Donate $10 Million — Then Kept Almost All of It.," 26 July 2019 To change the system, researchers need to address the social barriers that can discourage or prevent women from participating in clinical trials. — Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartz, "25 years of women being underrepresented in medical research, in charts," 3 July 2019 That is why carcasses begin to smell bad soon after the animals die—microbes create noxious chemicals that discourage larger beings from stealing their food. — Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Smithsonian, "How Do Fossils Form?," 8 June 2019 Beyond the sheer lack of high numbers of Black mental health professionals in the field, there’s also a longstanding stigma that discourages Black people from seeking help in the first place. — Jasmine Grant, Essence, "Taraji P. Henson Gives An Emotional Testimony To Congress On Mental Health Among Black Youth: 'This Is A National Crisis'," 7 June 2019 The Justice Department, which Barr leads, operates under guidelines that discourage the indictment of a sitting president. — Darlene Superville, The Seattle Times, "Michigan GOP congressman says Trump conduct is ‘impeachable’," 19 May 2019 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Wednesday asked for comment on eliminating regulatory and other barriers that may be discouraging interstate sales, a request that often means guidance or new regulation will follow. ... — Stephanie Armour, WSJ, "Trump Administration Looks to Jump Start Interstate Health-Insurance Sales," 6 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discourage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.