discountenancing

verb

present participle of discountenance
1
as in disliking
to hold an unfavorable opinion of a social philosopher who discountenanced all programs for helping the needy, claiming that society should encourage survival of the fittest

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in embarrassing
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress the political party was discountenanced by the actions of a few of its overly zealous members

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for discountenancing
  1. disliking
  2. embarrassing
  3. criticizing
  4. confusing
  5. flustering
  6. rattling
  7. disconcerting
  8. bothering
Verb
  • For Pillsbury, the issue seems to be less about disliking the name itself and more about seeing the same joke repeated online.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The result is not a simple story of locals disliking tourists.
    — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026
Definition of disliking
Verb
  • The comprehensive regimen is meant to uncover any prior criminal conduct in an applicant’s past as well as embarrassing personal information that could make an employee vulnerable to blackmail.
    — Eric Tucker, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Since then, Hochman has been slammed for playing politics, embarrassing his office and even backing down for no reason other than the pressure was too intense.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of embarrassing
Verb
  • As public support for Clancy grew by the day, online sleuths went to work challenging the prosecution’s narrative, closely scrutinizing witnesses and criticizing authorities for not investigating certain details more aggressively.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Some fans viewed the collaboration cynically, criticizing it as a way for Beyoncé to capitalize on Selena’s legacy, or to court more Latino fans.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of criticizing
Verb
  • Dirty glass, confusing backing liners and difficulty repositioning the film were among the most common frustrations.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Then began the desperate, confusing search for their colleagues.
    — Ross Adkin, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • The Pistons’ defense is swarming and flustering the Cavs.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 8 May 2026
  • But Seymour threw on a press, flustering the Patriots, who began to turn the ball over.
    — Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 22 Mar. 2026
Definition of flustering
Verb
  • And yep, my phone was rattling like a Richter Scale when all that happened, too.
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The song was a frenetic evolution of Brooklyn drill—the grimy, bone-rattling subgenre of hip-hop popularized by Bobby Shmurda—and its instrumental by the British producer 808Melo gave it a brash East London bounce.
    — Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of rattling
Verb
  • Rates of autism are rising to previously unseen levels, owing largely to better detection and new diagnostic criteria, but the numbers are still disconcerting.
    — Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • It is filled with off-putting, perhaps even disconcerting antics, and teams don't want to add that to their locker room.
    — Armando Salguero, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of disconcerting
Verb
  • The list of maladies bothering Ohtani is lengthy, and grew this week.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Ohtani reported that the area from his biceps to his neck was bothering him Wednesday night, Roberts said.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of bothering
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

discountenances
discountenancing
discounter
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Cite this Entry

“Discountenancing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discountenancing. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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