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discourage

[dih-skur-ij, -skuhr-]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object)

to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit.

to dissuade (usually followed by from).

to obstruct by opposition or difficulty; hinder: Low prices discourage industry.

to express or make clear disapproval of; frown upon: to discourage the expression of enthusiasm.

verb (used without object)

to become discouraged: a person who discourages easily.

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Discourage is one of our favorite verbs.

So is skedaddle. Does it mean:

to run away hurriedly; flee.

to bark; yelp.

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Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English discoragen < Middle French descorager, Old French descoragier. See dis-¹, courage

Related forms

dis·cour·ag·er, noun

dis·cour·age·a·ble, adjective

dis·cour·ag·ing·ly, adverb

o·ver·dis·cour·age, verb (used with object), -aged, -ag·ing.

pre·dis·cour·age, verb (used with object), -aged, -ag·ing.

EXPAND

un·dis·cour·age·a·ble, adjective

un·dis·cour·aged, adjective

un·dis·cour·ag·ing, adjective

un·dis·cour·ag·ing·ly, adverb

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. daunt, depress, deject, overawe, cow, abash. Discourage, dismay, intimidate mean to dishearten or frighten. To discourage is to dishearten by expressing disapproval or by suggesting that a contemplated action or course will probably fail: He was discouraged from going into business. To dismay is to dishearten completely: Her husband's philandering dismayed her. To intimidate is to frighten, as by threats of force, violence, or dire consequences: to intimidate a witness.

Antonyms
1. encourage.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To discourage

Example Sentences

European planners work hard to discourage drivers, cars and parking.

In evaluating how admissions policies encourage or discourage college attendance, for instance, they.

One explanation may be that the age gaps between husbands and much younger wives discourage large families.

EXPAND

European planners work hard to discourage drivers, cars and parking.

In evaluating how admissions policies encourage or discourage college attendance, for instance, they.

One explanation may be that the age gaps between husbands and much younger wives discourage large families.

The fence is designed to discourage smuggling and arms trafficking.

One of the best ways to promote clean transportation is to discourage dirty transportation.

Patel works with communities to discourage logging and the hunting of silkies.

To conserve moisture and discourage weeds, apply a mulch around and between shrubs.

The lack of published information about the latest nanotech progress may discourage some investors.

Today's insurers discourage doctors from spending enough time with patients to build those relationships.

Turning it over, they said, would discourage participation in such studies down the road.

Child-support rules also discourage poorly skilled men from working.

The exact location has been kept secret to discourage a gold rush.

They concluded that disorder can lead to distrust, which may discourage cooperation between neighbors.

Federal and state authorities have strengthened laws and intensified prosecutions to discourage looting in this country.

As plants bloom, remove faded flowers to discourage plants from setting seed.

Pegasus was expressly designed to discourage spammers.

Nonviolent, first-time offenders should be sent to boot camps to discourage them from moving on to more serious crimes.

Until then raising the interest rates would futher discourage investment.

Polluted beaches discourage tourists from investing in the area's hotels, restaurants, and recreational activities.

It is hard to believe that all these comments are trying to discourage an incredible advancement.

One key to this project is to discourage amateurs from coming into the construction area to see what they can find.

To discourage rot, the arbor rests on bricks to keep its wood base from touching the ground.

Russian online retailers also tried to band together in an attempt to discourage cyberfraud.

Europeans are working hard to discourage drivers, cars and parking in their cities.

But the subsidy would not discourage their consumption.

Bright lights nearby discourage females from coming ashore to nest.

Caffeine's a plant pesticide plants use to discourage insects eating them.

He mulches the garden with straw to keep soil moisture in and discourage weeds.

Fine to discourage the theft of a wheel, but useless for actually securing a bike.

To appease them or delay in striking at them can only discourage the army and all the loyal elements.

However, letting off defaulting debtors too readily may discourage potential creditors because of moral hazard.

Officials have also run public information campaigns to discourage poaching.

Others are trying to help individuals change their immediate eating milieu in ways that discourage overeating.

Dust cuts with sulfur or charcoal to discourage rot.

Others blame weak demand, as high inflation, falling real wages and fears for the future discourage household consumption.

Buy organic seed to promote biodiversity and discourage genetically modified organisms.

Shopping centers and sprawling suburbs are too often being redesigned at scales that discourage walking.

For instance, an increase in house prices ought to discourage new homebuyers.

The wrought-iron feeder is heavy enough to discourage squirrels from dragging it off.

The trouble is that difficult tests will strongly discourage many learners.

Versions are being tried to get welfare recipients into work and discourage criminal reoffending.

Finance authorities were told to consider tax measures to discourage plastic bag production and sale.

Plants also discourage animal browsing on green leaves and immature fruits with a bitter taste.

Squabbles over standards discourage companies from placing long-term bets.

Certain conditions encourage or discourage trade among countries.

Not to mention that telling children they'll be sold to a circus isn't necessarily going to discourage them from doing something.

Putting a price on carbon emissions is a good way to discourage them.

We discourage these people from joining the rescue team.

These people who do not want electric cars on the road will do or say anything to discourage their production.

Looking reasonable, say cynics, is a ruse to discourage investment in shale reserves and alternative pipelines.

Bury scraps beneath bedding material to keep odors down and discourage flies.

What a clever way to discourage people from buying knockoffs.

His aim is to discourage readers from doing likewise.

Teach children not to let the water run while brushing their teeth, and discourage long showers.

If you want to discourage the use of something, simply make it prohibitively expensive, that's how capitalism works.

Central banks have a range of tools they can use to discourage the growth of bubbles.

These nomadic tribespeople actively discourage visitors.

We should discourage scientists from interaction with any war outfit.

But unlike a cheap currency, it need not discourage their consumption.

The labeling requirement is the latest in the government's well-financed efforts to discourage smoking.

Both conditions-high inflation and a weak currency-would normally discourage rate cuts.

It was never really designed to extract information but to kill perceived enemies of the state and discourage dissidence.

Regulators must remove all obstacles that discourage them from doing so.

The world is full of alternative locations guaranteed to discourage the soft-bellied young of today.

Recent higher levels of border enforcement may also discourage people from trying to cross at all.

Or to discourage cats from smashing the plant, poke short bamboo stakes into the.

It is painful to discourage an aspiring business reporter from double-majoring in finance.

In recessions, they tend to take steps to discourage new migrants and even get rid of existing.

We have policies in place to discourage the distribution of distressing content, and our community monitors the site accordingly.

We think this strategy is to discourage ownership by.

Such exams should be well thought out so as to discourage memorization and rote learning.

I'd rather that state legislatures develop ad campaigns that show the health risks to discourage smoking while driving.

Mandatory arrest laws discourage victims from calling for help.

The casino owners discourage cinemas and clubs opening because it will distract people from gambling.

Europe already has a cap on emissions, which is designed precisely to discourage dirty fuels such as coal.

The commercial weather companies disagree with charges that they had tried to discourage implementation of the new policy.

Parents look to the schools to help impose order, especially to discourage drinking, smoking.

They will even take the books that are marked all over by the publisher in an effort to discourage the practice.

It also encourages countries to set cigarette taxes at a level that will discourage smoking.

They can discourage the use of chemical fertilizer by cutting down on subsidies.

Mulch plantings to discourage weeds and keep soil moist.

Kazimi proposes charging by the volume of plutonium instead, so as to discourage its creation.

We need to examine whether the law is sufficient to discourage bullying in this new hybrid online-offline environment.

It might discourage programs from admitting students that have no reasonable expection of ever finding a decent job in academia.

In some cantons you have to pay stamps for bin bags to discourage too much rubbish from being thrown away.

These bristles have hollow tubes filled with poison, which break easily when touched to discourage predators.

Someone else may choose to change their view on drag queens so they could justifiably continue to discourage their son.

He attempted to discourage the man by quoting him a price several times higher than for any project commissioned there before.

Such grim warnings discourage spending by households and businesses, depressing output.

Borislav had naturally figured that the brief lifetime of these toys might discourage the kids from buying them.

Rigorously codified manners and rituals discourage outsiders.

Cutting the generous pension benefits of state employees may discourage people from a career in public service, thereby.

The commission said studies had shown that an increase in the cost of cigarettes tended to discourage smoking among the young.

Job-protection rules discourage permanent job creation, so the young drift on temporary contracts.

Plants probably produce the toxic compounds to discourage predators from gnawing on them too much.

Lamborghini product people discourage this kind of high-school antic, but they also know it's inevitable.

The traditions of that periodical tend to discourage subscribers who want a diet of reading with dramatic interest in.

One sure way to discourage them would be to reintroduce price controls.

The human walking buddies tended to discourage each other and used excuses such as the weather being too hot”.

If the information were made public, the argument went, it would discourage airlines and airports form reporting bird strikes.

When people see an accident, the law should not discourage them from offering the best help they can.

The incentives tend to be stacked against negativity, and in some cases implicitly discourage it.

She would discourage any thought of the theatre and herself as going steady.

And it should discourage the practice of investing staff retirement funds in company shares.

They prey on our fears, consume precious resources and may discourage us from pursuing real solutions.

It is also not unusual for co-op lawyers to gently discourage such a conversion.

They discourage chain stores and fast-food franchises as well as the use or production of any genetically modified agriculture.

His government issued a travel alert, which will discourage citizens from visiting the state.

Blogs pop up that promote or discourage against certain sites.

Critics had said that restricting use of propofol would discourage patients from undergoing a colonoscopy.

The difference is whether the person was trying to discourage or encourage you in what you were trying to accomplish.

They try to remain hopeful in a cynical world of adults that discourage them.

It's no panacea, but being on the hook ought to discourage home buyers from borrowing more than they can really afford.

Ofsted reports praise behaviour and results but criticise rigid teachers who discourage debate.

But the main point is to discourage the use of high-carbon fossil fuels.

The present one finds himself in charge of a revolution he did nothing to discourage but did not create.

Lower prices for the local loop may discourage the development of alternatives to the phone network.

The government's policy is to discourage immigrants from staying.

The primary aim is to discourage car use to the benefit of others.

Host governments are wary of seeing aid diverted from locals to refugees, so they often discourage development.

Nigeria's history of fighting the scourge is not the sort to discourage dealers.

They may keep offenders off the streets, but they fail to discourage them from offending.

Some filmmakers fear that the industry's growth could slow if the authorities discourage popular voodoo storylines.

Another way to discourage barnacles is to confuse them.

All sorts of government policies strongly discourage saving.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

discourage (dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒ)

—vb
1.	to deprive of the will to persist in something
2.	to inhibit; prevent: this solution discourages rust
3.	to oppose by expressing disapproval

dis'couragement

—n

dis'courager

—n

dis'couragingly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

discourage

mid-15c., from M.Fr. descourager, from O.Fr. descouragier, from des- "away" + corage (see courage). Related: Discouraged; discouragement; discouraging.

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Matching Quote

"Do not discourage your children from hoarding, if they have a taste to it; whoever lays up his penny rather than part with it for a cake, at least is not the slave of gross appetite; and shows besides a preference always to be esteemed, of the future to the present moment."

-Samuel Johnson

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