DISHEARTENING Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

disheartening 1 of 2

adjective

as in discouraging

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Dissimilar Words

disheartening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of dishearten

as in frustrating

to lessen the courage or confidence of we were disheartened by the news that our grandmother was seriously ill

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of disheartening

Adjective

Perhaps the most disheartening part, though, was the fact that the Falcons offense had to operate on a silent count at home. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026 One of the more disheartening developments for the Eagles has been their complete inability to generate productive drives upon returning from halftime. — Andy Behrens, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026 Amid disheartening and disruptive school closures and thousands of position cuts districts have been forced to implement due to million-dollar budget shortfalls, vacancies have continued to climb. — Andrew Spar, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026 This has been especially disheartening because the strategy and RPG elements the series is known for have so far been excellent. — Jay Peters, The Verge, 13 Aug. 2026 Selina Wang, the lead author of the study, says the findings are particularly disheartening, as avocado oil products are often much more expensive than those made with olive or other vegetable oils. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 24 July 2026 That process repeats over and over and can be very disheartening to the team. — Peter Nelson, ArsTechnica, 10 July 2026 Though 2025 was a disappointing five-loss campaign that opened with a disheartening 34-7 defeat at USF and ended in similar fashion (38-10) against Washington in the LA Bowl, Spencer Danielson’s Broncos nonetheless won another Mountain West title. — Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 18 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

Celebrating in a moment like that is disheartening and would never be tolerated here at Bosco. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026 There is nothing quite as disheartening of a travel mishap than arriving to your destination (or back home) and not finding your luggage on the carousel at the airport. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 22 July 2026 These answers reflect a pretty clear, if slightly disheartening, picture of what is in store for the Falcons at the quarterback position. — Josh Kendall, New York Times, 16 July 2026 Gomez said the search has been disheartening, with their hopes of staying in the city of Hammond beginning to wane. — Anna Ortiz, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026 The trio also acknowledged how demoralizing and disheartening the recent spate of firings, and the lack of explanation for them, has been. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 11 June 2026 And Saturday’s walkoff loss to the Rangers was especially disheartening. — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 31 May 2026 Kantor said the data is disheartening. — Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 28 Apr. 2026 While the unknown status is disheartening, Nepola recalls how the series, first brought to the air in 2011, was once thought to be gone for good only to be resurrected by Peacock in 2021. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disheartening

Adjective

The charges were filed less than two weeks before the midterm election, breaking with longstanding DOJ guidance discouraging actions that could affect upcoming political races.

— Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Conventional wisdom suggests such discouraging numbers would depress turnout.

— Christopher Miller, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of discouraging

Verb

But Algo’s hyper-logical, computerised process of consistently picking the favourites to win was undone in the second match of the day, with Ghana frustrating England in a 0-0 draw.

— The Athletic Soccer Experts, New York Times, 24 June 2026
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

Definition of frustrating

Adjective

While bulls and bears will continue to argue about the ROI on AI spending, there were plenty of disconcerting signs across the full quarterly report.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2026
Wall Street is becoming more disconcerting about the data center buildout, and companies that are burning through free cash flow are getting punished.

— John Towfighi, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of disconcerting

Adjective

Most dismaying to me was the group’s seemingly endless tinkering with the menu at Rowdy Rooster, its fast-casual fried-chicken spot, including a downgrade in the chicken’s range of heat.

— Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 19 July 2026
Some recent comments from longtime Voicers have been especially dismaying.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026

Definition of dismaying

Adjective

How dispiriting that 11 aldermanic races already are decided.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
Without spoiling the plot, there’s a dispiriting note at the end of the film as text on-screen informs us that some very high percentage of Americans get their news from Facebook to this day.

— Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of dispiriting

Adjective

Returning to the school Now the community faces the daunting task of returning to normal life in a setting marred by inexplicable violence.

— Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
Maintaining the pristine whiteness and fluffy texture of your towels doesn’t have to be a daunting task.

— Anyssa Roberts, The Spruce, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of daunting

Adjective

More troubling is the environmental toll on the Thatcher Woods Forest Preserve.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Opponents see something considerably more troubling, namely politicians asking voters to weaken constitutional protections against partisan manipulation for the express purpose of partisanship.

— Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of troubling

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disheartened

disheartening

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Style

“Disheartening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disheartening. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of disheartening

adjective

verb

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