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discourage

dis·cour·age

discourage

 
 
pronunciation:
dih skuh rihj
features:
Word Combinations (verb), Word Parts
part of speech: transitive verb
inflections: discourages, discouraging, discouraged
definition 1: to cause to lose hope or confidence; dishearten.
The losing streak discouraged the team immensely.The foul weather discouraged the hikers.
synonyms:
daunt, dishearten, dispirit
antonyms:
embolden, encourage, hearten
similar words:
chill, dampen, deject, depress, disenchant, dismay, intimidate, unnerve
definition 2: to dissuade or hinder (usu. fol. by "from").
His mother tried to discourage him from joining the army.
synonyms:
deter, dissuade
antonyms:
encourage, excite, incite, prompt, spur, stimulate, tempt
similar words:
admonish, caution, disincline, expostulate, hinder, remonstrate with, restrain, warn
definition 3: to express disapproval of or objection to.
The chairman discouraged further discussion of the topic.
synonyms:
object to, oppose
antonyms:
encourage
similar words:
block, contravene, deplore, deprecate, deter, disapprove, obstruct, reject, repress, resist, squelch, suppress
Word Combinations  About this feature
adverb + (v.)discourage actively, deeply, officially, strongly, thereby
(v.)discourage + adverb altogether
(v.)discourage + nounHelp abortion, advertising, aggression, behavior, breast-feeding, conservation, consumption, cooperation, creation, creativity, dependency, disclosure, drinking, emergence, emigration, employer, formation, hiring, immigration, import, innovation, investment, investor, lawsuit, litigation, participation, pest, plaintiff, predator, proliferation, setback, smoking, speculation, sportsmanship, thinking, use, visitor, voting, weed, youngster [See all][See only the most frequent]
derivation: discouragingly (adv.)
Word Parts  About this feature
The word discourage contains the following part:
cor2, cour2, cord Latin root that means heart
synonyms:
cardi, cardio