discourage

The word “discourage” means to make someone feel less confident, hopeful, or motivated. In plain terms, to take away someone's confidence or motivation, or to talk them out of doing something.

“Discourage” is pronounced dihs-KUH-rihj (/dɪsˈkɝɪd͡ʒ/ in IPA).

Here is “discourage” used in a sentence: “Repeated rejection can discourage even the most determined writer.”

Words with a similar meaning to “discourage” include daunt, deter and dissuade.

The opposite of “discourage” — its antonyms — is encourage.

“Discourage” is a verb.

The word “discourage” comes from Old French. From Old French descouragier, built from des- ("dis-") plus corage ("courage, heart").

“Discourage” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Discourage often means to reduce someone's confidence or motivation in general, while dissuade specifically means to persuade someone not to take a particular action, usually through argument or advice. You can discourage someone's enthusiasm broadly, but you dissuade someone from a specific decision.

Discourage is commonly followed by from plus a verb in the -ing form, as in the rain discouraged people from going outside. This structure shows the action someone is being deterred from taking.

Yes, discourage can describe a general loss of confidence or hope, as in repeated failures discouraged the team, without referring to any single action being prevented. This broader sense affects mood or motivation rather than a specific decision.