discourage
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
discourage
- /dɪsˈkʌɹɪd͡ʒ/ UK
- /dɪsˈkɝɪd͡ʒ/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle French descourager (modern French décourager), from Old French descouragier, from des- and corage. By surface analysis, dis- + courage.
verb discourages · discouraging · discouraged
-
To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject.
Don't be discouraged by the amount of work left to do: you'll finish it in good time.
Similar: dash
- To persuade somebody not to do (something). Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can.
noun
-
Lack of courage
Similar: cowardliness
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: deter, admonish, warn, demotivate, frustrate, disadvantage, dismay, daunt, disdain, dissuade, hinder, scare, impede, halt, avoid, reduce
Translations
Every language
verb to dishearten
| Español | descorazonar, acobardar, desanimar, deshuevar, desgüevar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 落胆させる rakutan saseru, がっかりさせる gakkari saseru |
| 中文 | 令人愁悶 /令人愁闷 lìng rén chóumèn, 使沮喪 /使沮丧 shǐ jǔsàng |
| Português | desencorajar, desanimar, desalentar |
| Français | décourager |
| Deutsch | entmutigen, abschrecken |
| Ελληνικά | αποκαρδιώνω apokardióno, αποθαρρύνω apotharrýno |
| Română | descuraja |
| Русский | обескура́живать obeskuráživatʹ, обескура́жить obeskurážitʹ, расхола́живать rasxoláživatʹ, расхолоди́ть rasxolodítʹ, отбива́ть охо́ту otbivátʹ oxótu, отгова́ривать otgovárivatʹ |
verb to persuade somebody not to do something
| Español | desalentar, disuadir |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 思い止まらせる omoitodomaraseru, 抑止する yokushi suru |
| Português | despersuadir, dissuadir, desencorajar |
| Français | dissuader |
| Deutsch | abraten, abraten von, abbringen von |
| Italiano | scoraggiare |
| Ελληνικά | αποθαρρύνω apotharrýno |
| Русский | разубежда́ть razubeždátʹ, разубеди́ть razubedítʹ, отгова́ривать otgovárivatʹ, отговори́ть otgovorítʹ |
Talk about this word "discourage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/discourage. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. discourage. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/discourage "discourage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/discourage.Cite this
@misc{discourage_2026,
title = {discourage},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/discourage},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
