Wiktionary

discourage

English

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Etymology

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From Middle French descourager (modern French décourager), from Old French descouragier, from des- and corage. By surface analysis, dis- +‎ courage.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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discourage (third-person singular simple present discourages, present participle discouraging, simple past and past participle discouraged)

  1. (transitive) 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.
  2. (transitive) To persuade somebody not to do (something).
    • 1854, Abraham Lincoln., Notes for a Law Lecture:
      Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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discourage (uncountable)

  1. (rare) Lack of courage

Synonyms

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Further reading

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