as in discouraging
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1
as in paralyzing
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 frustrating
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 degrading
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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Recent Examples of demoralizing
Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 5 June 2026
The ball—true to Brown’s original design—is always humming around at high speed, finding the right man and confounding the defenses that the team’s sheer force keeps demoralizing.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 2 June 2026
Cleveland's season ended with a resounding, demoralizing and embarrassing 130-93 loss on Monday night in Game 4 to the New York Knicks, who swept the series and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
—ABC News, 25 May 2026
The demoralizing loss sent the Lakers into a three-game tailspin just a couple weeks before the playoffs.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2026
After the traditionally incredibly dominant US basketball team finished third at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the demoralizing loss forced the best ballers in the country to get serious and learn to work together.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 10 Apr. 2026
The Heat repeatedly allowed open shots and unchallenged forays to the basket in another demoralizing and disgraceful defensive display, one made all the worse by the fact the Heat is fighting for playoff seeding.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Nothing is more demoralizing for a team trying to regain its balance than having its outcome determined by the third inning.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2026
On the surface, that defeat should have been demoralizing, but the reality was very different.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
Andrew Greif, NBC news, 9 June 2026
The effort to remove the soldier’s wife, who was born in Honduras and remained in a federal immigration detention center Monday, has drawn criticism from military family advocates who called the detention demoralizing in a time of war and warned that deporting spouses could undermine recruitment.
—Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
The effort to remove Ramos, who was born in Honduras, has drawn backlash from military family advocates, who called the detention demoralizing in a time of war and warned that deporting spouses could undermine recruitment.
—CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
The effort to remove the soldier's wife, who was born in Honduras and remained in a federal immigration detention center Monday, has drawn backlash from military family advocates who called the detention demoralizing in a time of war and warned that deporting spouses could undermine recruitment.
—Jack Brook, ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026
Annual ritual causes anxiety Many have called the annual ritual disruptive to schools and demoralizing to the employees who receive them.
—Edsource, Daily News, 16 Mar. 2026
Add in fashion, an industry practically built on demoralizing vulnerable girls, and what could go wrong?
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Last year, approximately three hundred and fifty-two thousand civil servants left their jobs, fulfilling one of the Administration’s stated goals of dismantling the government bureaucracy and demoralizing the federal workforce.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2026
On the inbound, Gary Payton found a cutting Fisher, who turned and heaved a miracle 18-footer at the buzzer, demoralizing the Spurs.
—The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
No question, the end of the season was deflating and demoralizing.
—Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 5 June 2026
The ball—true to Brown’s original design—is always humming around at high speed, finding the right man and confounding the defenses that the team’s sheer force keeps demoralizing.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 2 June 2026
Cleveland's season ended with a resounding, demoralizing and embarrassing 130-93 loss on Monday night in Game 4 to the New York Knicks, who swept the series and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
—ABC News, 25 May 2026
The demoralizing loss sent the Lakers into a three-game tailspin just a couple weeks before the playoffs.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2026
After the traditionally incredibly dominant US basketball team finished third at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the demoralizing loss forced the best ballers in the country to get serious and learn to work together.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 10 Apr. 2026
The Heat repeatedly allowed open shots and unchallenged forays to the basket in another demoralizing and disgraceful defensive display, one made all the worse by the fact the Heat is fighting for playoff seeding.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Nothing is more demoralizing for a team trying to regain its balance than having its outcome determined by the third inning.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2026
On the surface, that defeat should have been demoralizing, but the reality was very different.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
Verb
The San Antonio Spurs had just lost Game 3 of the Western Conference finals in demoralizing fashion.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 9 June 2026
The effort to remove the soldier’s wife, who was born in Honduras and remained in a federal immigration detention center Monday, has drawn criticism from military family advocates who called the detention demoralizing in a time of war and warned that deporting spouses could undermine recruitment.
—Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
The effort to remove Ramos, who was born in Honduras, has drawn backlash from military family advocates, who called the detention demoralizing in a time of war and warned that deporting spouses could undermine recruitment.
—CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
The effort to remove the soldier's wife, who was born in Honduras and remained in a federal immigration detention center Monday, has drawn backlash from military family advocates who called the detention demoralizing in a time of war and warned that deporting spouses could undermine recruitment.
—Jack Brook, ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026
Annual ritual causes anxiety Many have called the annual ritual disruptive to schools and demoralizing to the employees who receive them.
—Edsource, Daily News, 16 Mar. 2026
Add in fashion, an industry practically built on demoralizing vulnerable girls, and what could go wrong?
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Last year, approximately three hundred and fifty-two thousand civil servants left their jobs, fulfilling one of the Administration’s stated goals of dismantling the government bureaucracy and demoralizing the federal workforce.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2026
On the inbound, Gary Payton found a cutting Fisher, who turned and heaved a miracle 18-footer at the buzzer, demoralizing the Spurs.
—The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoralizing
Adjective
-
Many applicants report having to manually re-enter details already contained within their resume, creating a repetitive and discouraging experience.—
ByBryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
This week marked a discouraging milestone for American motorists.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
But Leo isn’t the only VIP who'll be paralyzing much of Madrid this weekend.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
-
Judge Salvador Vasquez sentenced Pouncey, 37, of Gary, to 176 years Friday for killing Klorya and her husband Kyle Matthews in April 2024, and paralyzing a third man, Malieke Thomas, 55, who later died.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The documentary’s contradiction is right there, enthralling us with the wild achievements Potter pulled off and frustrating us with his bombast, leading us to ponder whether, as The Dark Wizard suggests, either could exist without the other.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
7 May 2026
-
Mack and the Chargers’ defense pressured quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of the Eagles and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, frustrating them and keeping them out of their comfort zones.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The country’s ministry of culture and sports set out a series of rules and regulations which included no pyro, no face paint and no shouting of words that could be degrading towards any person on the field, not even the referee.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
The bones also were coated with a light layer of minerals from the surrounding seawater, which may have prevented them from degrading.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
In this disheartening scenario, the contention is that human knowledge at the edges will be dampened, buried, or rarely presented.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
Drying Your Nails At Home There is nothing more disheartening than taking time to paint your nails at home only to smudge them minutes later.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
-
This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
New Yorkers will recall the assholic behavior of the Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a swaggering builder of ships, who always seemed to delight in humiliating his managers and players.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
11 June 2026
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In her report, Soto accused Sibrian of allegedly mocking and humiliating her for her accent, immigration status and race and calling her stupid.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
Bari Weiss directed the housecleaning at the newsmagazine last week, and Nick Bilton signed the letter telling Scott Pelley he was fired on Tuesday night, but the Paramount CEO owns the decisions and the disconcerting fallout.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
-
The abruptness is disconcerting but can be overcome by learning the pedal’s nuances.—
James Raia,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demoralizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoralizing. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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