as in disheartening
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in discouraging
to lessen the courage or confidence of
dispirited by the overwhelming amount of information needed to write the report
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of dispiriting
Jeffrey Seller, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
One particularly dispiriting departure is that of Peter Marks, the longtime leader of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2025
One of the very depressing and dispiriting aspects of this is that Congress is not standing up for its prerogatives.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025
The outcome ended what had been a dispiriting history for Maryland (25-7).
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 15 Mar. 2025
If blowout losses and dispiriting performances characterized the 2023-24 Sharks season, the team’s 2024-25 season has been pockmarked by heartbreak, with an almost uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025
The lengthy injury report is really dispiriting, with Dallas also down Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and midseason acquisition Caleb Martin.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
Who better, then, to pry Eve loose than a rangy, rakish music journalist (Benjamin Bratt) whose game includes unironic hat-wearing and — like a dispiriting number of men in his age bracket — the unembarrassed deployment of Stephen Stills lyrics?
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
The Vols look to avenge last month’s dispiriting loss in Knoxville; the Wildcats can earn a statement sweep of a respected team.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
In this excerpt, adapted from Seller’s memoir, Theater Kid (out on May 6 from Simon & Schuster), the producer lays out the musical’s long road from dispiriting workshop to its simultaneously triumphant and tragic first preview performance.
—Jeffrey Seller, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
One particularly dispiriting departure is that of Peter Marks, the longtime leader of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2025
One of the very depressing and dispiriting aspects of this is that Congress is not standing up for its prerogatives.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025
The outcome ended what had been a dispiriting history for Maryland (25-7).
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 15 Mar. 2025
If blowout losses and dispiriting performances characterized the 2023-24 Sharks season, the team’s 2024-25 season has been pockmarked by heartbreak, with an almost uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025
The lengthy injury report is really dispiriting, with Dallas also down Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and midseason acquisition Caleb Martin.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
Who better, then, to pry Eve loose than a rangy, rakish music journalist (Benjamin Bratt) whose game includes unironic hat-wearing and — like a dispiriting number of men in his age bracket — the unembarrassed deployment of Stephen Stills lyrics?
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
The Vols look to avenge last month’s dispiriting loss in Knoxville; the Wildcats can earn a statement sweep of a respected team.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispiriting
Verb
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Good air circulation will allow leaves and stems to dry out, discouraging disease.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Apr. 2025
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Actions by officials in the two countries are also discouraging Canadian tourists from looking south.—
Skyler Swisher,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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And developers who take on the spatial complexities of working with old architecture face a dismaying array of bureaucratic and financial challenges.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
27 June 2025
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And yet the industry is beset by a dismaying trend: More and more, people are watching movies on their laptops, tablets, and smartphones.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
21 Feb. 2014
Adjective
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The prospect of any operation is daunting, yet for many, the promise of relief from pain or disability is tempered by a hope for non-surgical alternatives.—
Richard Menger MD MPA,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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Saturday was not exactly a daunting task for Kershaw.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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The research community has long warned of troubling links to chronic disease, especially for children, and have called for more government oversight of the plastic, fossil fuel and chemical industries.—
Will Stone,
NPR,
18 June 2025
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Experts said state health exchanges’ use of advertising trackers was troubling if not entirely surprising.—
Colin Lecher,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Not surprisingly, its 2025 proxy statement reveals the toxic governance triumvirate – incentives, incompetence and indifference – that lures troublesome attention from both hackers and activists.—
Noah Barsky,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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The big screen has played host to a never-ending spate of troublesome man-eating sharks ever since Steven Spielberg's killer-fish spectacle.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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The other shoe dropped with an unsettling thud recently when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt openly gay-bashed in defense of her controversial boss.—
Louis Balsamo,
Baltimore Sun,
25 June 2025
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Some messages were sweet, others were steamy, and some were even unsettling.—
Cathy Hackl,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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Content moderators are workers who remove disturbing content from social media—data which is often then used to train AI systems like ChatGPT or Facebook’s algorithms.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
19 June 2025
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These stories reveal a disturbing truth: AI can automate and amplify existing biases, leading to real-world injustice.—
Sajal Singh,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Like worrisome termites, cockroaches have a job to do, breaking down organic matter in the natural world.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
18 June 2025
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Household ownership of the U.S. stock market is near a record, but that could be a worrisome development, according to Ned Davis Research.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dispiriting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispiriting. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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