1
as in frustrates
to lessen the courage or confidence of
I didn't let losing discourage me from trying again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dissuades
to steer (a person) from an activity or course of action
the higher fines may help discourage drivers from speeding on the highway
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discourages
Watering discourages nesting, so water your lawn frequently.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 18 June 2026
The Culture Advantage Few Leaders Recognize Every organizational culture rewards certain behaviors and quietly discourages others.
—Tracy Lawrence, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
This improves air circulation around the rhizomes and discourages future rot.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 18 June 2026
That federal statute emphasizes rehabilitation over punishment for juvenile defendants, and as such strongly discourages pretrial detention for minors or conditioning their release on the posting of bail.
—Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
Google discourages websites from trying to game AI search results, saying that the surest way to get mentioned by AI is to create content that is genuinely useful to humans.
—Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
Hot water, or water with a few drops of essential oil, like mint or citrus, discourages survivors from returning.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 10 June 2026
The company’s claim is that MST modifies the mechanical stress state of the silicon surface in a way that discourages dislocation nucleation and propagation during the subsequent GaN growth steps.
—Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
Rent control short-circuits this process and discourages renovation and investment.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 27 May 2026
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 18 June 2026
The Culture Advantage Few Leaders Recognize Every organizational culture rewards certain behaviors and quietly discourages others.
—Tracy Lawrence, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
This improves air circulation around the rhizomes and discourages future rot.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 18 June 2026
That federal statute emphasizes rehabilitation over punishment for juvenile defendants, and as such strongly discourages pretrial detention for minors or conditioning their release on the posting of bail.
—Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
Google discourages websites from trying to game AI search results, saying that the surest way to get mentioned by AI is to create content that is genuinely useful to humans.
—Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
Hot water, or water with a few drops of essential oil, like mint or citrus, discourages survivors from returning.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 10 June 2026
The company’s claim is that MST modifies the mechanical stress state of the silicon surface in a way that discourages dislocation nucleation and propagation during the subsequent GaN growth steps.
—Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
Rent control short-circuits this process and discourages renovation and investment.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 27 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discourages
Verb
-
What frustrates me is when the CTA isn’t there.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
9 June 2026
-
Part of what fascinates and frustrates as regards Ginsberg is that for all of those thick anthologies, propriety forces me to concede that many of the poems simply aren’t that good.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Hugo dissuades him—for unstated reasons that eventually prove pivotal—from putting the material online.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
16 June 2026
-
But if a dentist dissuades you from getting one, Nguyen said, that’s another red flag.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members can lead to penalties of up to $43,658 per violation, according to the FAA.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
3 May 2026
-
The aura of the classical guitar intimidates me.—
Peter Wayne Moe,
Longreads,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The specter of shifting politics deters drillers from taking up new licenses.—
Ari Natter,
Bloomberg,
9 June 2026
-
The green leaves are splotched with white and bumpy on the upper side, and the stems are hairy, which deters deer.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Discourages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discourages. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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