verb
- Try to prevent; show opposition to.
- usage: "We should discourage this practice among our youth"
- synonyms: deter, discourage
- Deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged.
- synonyms: discourage
- Admonish or counsel in terms of someone's behavior.
- usage: "I warned him not to go too far"; "I warn you against false assumptions"; "She warned him to be quiet"
- synonyms: warn, discourage, admonish, monish
adjective
- Depriving of confidence or hope or enthusiasm and hence often deterring action.
- usage: "where never is heard a discouraging word"
- Expressing disapproval. .
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). discouraging. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/discouraging/definitions/1172547 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "discouraging" http://smartdefine.org/discouraging/definitions/1172547 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, discouraging, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/discouraging/definitions/1172547>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "discouraging" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/discouraging/definitions/1172547> |