1
as in to paralyze
to deprive of courage or confidence
the mere sight of the forbidding cliffs demoralized the climbers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to discourage
to lessen the courage or confidence of
we refused to be demoralized by our humiliating defeat and vowed to come roaring back the following week
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to humiliate
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
felt society as a whole has been demoralized by the widespread availability of pornography
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demoralize
This is frustrating and demoralizing for the person in that role.
—
Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, McC, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Many Chicagoans still harbor deep distrust of the police, while the city’s officers are demoralized and fearful about what awaits them on streets where bad actors have no fear of law enforcement.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2025
There, the demoralizing displays of dysfunction occur more often behind closed doors, and not in full public view.
—Dain Fitzgerald, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
Discovery Ready to Offer Batman, Harry Potter, 'Friends' as Figures for Ads
The titular girl is Jiang Ning (Zhang Zifeng) a fiercely competitive skater who’s been going through a demoralizing period in her training.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for demoralize
Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, McC, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Many Chicagoans still harbor deep distrust of the police, while the city’s officers are demoralized and fearful about what awaits them on streets where bad actors have no fear of law enforcement.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2025
There, the demoralizing displays of dysfunction occur more often behind closed doors, and not in full public view.
—Dain Fitzgerald, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
Discovery Ready to Offer Batman, Harry Potter, 'Friends' as Figures for Ads
The titular girl is Jiang Ning (Zhang Zifeng) a fiercely competitive skater who’s been going through a demoralizing period in her training.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for demoralize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoralize
Verb
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Trump deserves credit for ignoring the voices in Washington who counsel inaction out of an understandable but often paralyzing fear of unintended consequences.—
The Editors,
National Review,
24 June 2025
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Airpower paralyzed Saddam Hussein’s regime and rendered his military ineffective.—
David A. Deptula,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Verb
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While global finance institutions and investors have long been interested in diversifying to China, Beijing’s strict controls on capital outflows and relatively opaque system have discouraged large-scale buying of mainland China assets.—
Lee Ying Shan,Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
25 June 2025
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Meanwhile, rent control and other well-meaning interventions often backfire by discouraging investment and reducing housing availability in the long run.—
Alexander Frei,
Boston Herald,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Miller sought to shield these women, her suit said, and as a result she was humiliated, harassed and ultimately forced out of her job by Spitzer and Nelson.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
20 June 2025
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As Howard begins to humiliate Matt, the camera follows all angles of the table, making sure to showcase everyone’s reactions.—
Leia Mendoza,
Variety,
17 June 2025
Verb
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In her June 22 decision, Holmes said the government’s claims that Abrego Garcia is a gang member and could intimidate or threaten witnesses are based on vague statements of cooperating witnesses.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
26 June 2025
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How Unions are Stepping in to Fill Governance Gaps Unions have observed that many workers feel intimidated by the technical nature of AI and are uneasy when discussing their concerns with their employers.—
Oludolapo Makinde,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Williams often got frustrated with him and told him to be quiet.—
Michael Cuglietta,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 July 2025
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Body camera footage released after the demonstration showed police disagreed about the tactics and people were immediately frustrated with the response.—
David Ferrara,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Verb
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One of the challenges is that signals in fiber-optic cables degrade over distance.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
24 June 2025
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Israel wants to degrade Iran's missiles and nuclear program.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
23 June 2025
Verb
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The woman inside banged pots and pans and screamed at the bear to try to frighten it away, officials said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
25 June 2025
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Winston Churchill said the U-boat peril was the only thing that really frightened him during World War II.—
Carl Burdette,
Baltimore Sun,
22 June 2025
Verb
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Abandoning recognition can erode motivation, diminish engagement and make employees feel invisible, weakening the cultural fabric and undermining long-term resilience.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
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But in an unexpected ruling in 2023, the Supreme Court declined an invitation to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.—
June 27,
CBS News,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demoralize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoralize. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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