discourageverb [ T ]
uk/dɪˈskʌr.ɪdʒ/us/dɪˈskɝː.ɪdʒ/discourage verb [ T ] (MAKE LESS CONFIDENT)
B2 to make someone feel less confident, enthusiastic, and positive about something, or less willing to do something:
The thought of how much work she had to do discouraged her.
Opposite
encourage
More examples
- Don't let me discourage you if it's what you want to do.
- Her criticism had discouraged him.
- Don't let her comments discourage you.
- It discouraged me to hear so little enthusiasm for the project.
- I don't want to discourage her - merely inject a note of realism.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Discouraging and putting off
- aversive
- cold
- daunt
- daunting
- deter
- deterrence
- discouragement
- dishearten
- disincentive
- emasculate
- pour/throw cold water on sth idiom
- put
- put a spoke in sb's wheel idiom
- spoil
- spoil sb's party idiom
- take the wind out of sb's sails idiom
- throw
- throw cold water on sth idiom
- wind 1
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discourage verb [ T ] (PREVENT)
B2 to prevent or try to prevent something happening or someone doing something, by making things difficult or unpleasant, or by showing disapproval:
a campaign to discourage people from smoking
The authorities have put tanks on the streets to discourage any protest.
Opposite
encourage
More examples
- We need tougher penalties to discourage miscreants.
- Leaving an outside light on after dark can discourage a potential burglar.
- Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowds and to discourage looters who ransacked shops and set fire to cars.
- A new campaign is aimed at discouraging children from watching too much television.
- The shop employs uniformed security guards to discourage shoplifters.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Preventing and impeding
- avert
- avoid
- avoidable
- bar
- be a drag on sb/sth idiom
- block sth out
- blot
- bottleneck
- derail
- fireproof
- hold out on sb
- hold sb/sth back
- holding pattern
- impede
- impedimenta
- prevention is better than cure idiom
- preventive
- prohibit
- pull
- pull the rug from under sb's feet idiom
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discouraging
adjective uk/dɪˈskʌr.ɪ.dʒɪŋ/us/dɪˈskɝː.ɪ.dʒɪŋ/
discouraging results