discourage

verb

dis·​cour·​age di-ˈskər-ij 

-ˈskə-rij

discouraged; discouraging

transitive verb

1

: to deprive of courage or confidence : dishearten

was discouraged by repeated failure

2

a

: to hinder by disfavoring

trying to discourage absenteeism

b

: to dissuade or attempt to dissuade from doing something

tried to discourage her from going

discourageable

di-ˈskər-i-jə-bəl 

-ˈskə-ri-

adjective

discourager noun

discouragingly

di-ˈskər-i-jiŋ-lē 

-ˈkə-ri-

adverb

Synonyms of discourage

• frustrate
• intimidate
• daunt
• frighten

Examples of discourage in a Sentence

Try not to let losing discourage you.

The area's dry climate discourages agriculture.

He claims the new regulations will discourage investment.

That type of behavior ought to be discouraged.

Recent Examples on the Web

But BookTok operates in a nebulous space online, where creators are seen as both content creators and independent critics who are discouraged from accepting any money for reviews. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Dec. 2025

Saturday Night Live typically allows backing vocal tracks for its musical guests, but the show famously discourages lip-syncing during its musical performances. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025

Any deliberate interference targeting BeiDou’s civilian signals would also disrupt GPS-dependent applications, fundamentally discouraging malicious jamming and strengthening the security of China’s civilian navigation services. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 20 Dec. 2025

Sigourney Weaver revealed how her late actress mother, Elizabeth Inglis, tried to discourage her from following in her footsteps. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English discoragen, from Middle French descorager, from Old French descoragier, from des- dis- + corage courage

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for discourage

• demurrage
• encourage
• burrage
• courage

Kids Definition

discourage

verb

dis·​cour·​age dis-ˈkər-ij 

-ˈkə-rij

discouraged; discouraging

1

: to lessen the courage or confidence of : dishearten

didn't let losing discourage me

2

a

: to make less likely or appealing : deter

laws that discourage speeding

b

: to advise against a course of action : dissuade

discouraged careless work

discouragingly

-iŋ-lē 

adverb