discontent

1 of 4

adjective

dis·​con·​tent ˌdis-kən-ˈtent How to pronounce discontent (audio)
: dissatisfied, discontented
voters growing increasingly discontent

discontent

2 of 4

noun (1)

: lack of satisfaction with one's possessions, status, or situation : lack of contentment:
a
: a sense of grievance : dissatisfaction
the winter of our discontentWilliam Shakespeare
b
: restless aspiration (see aspiration sense 1a) for improvement

discontent

3 of 4

verb

discontented; discontenting; discontents

transitive verb

: to make dissatisfied or discontented
were discontented by the decision
discontentment noun

discontent

4 of 4

noun (2)

: one who is dissatisfied or discontented : malcontent

Examples of discontent in a Sentence

Adjective Polls show that voters are growing increasingly discontent. a novel about a woman who is desperately discontent with the stifling limitations of her small-town life Verb the ongoing lack of decent food discontented and demoralized the soldiers in the rebel army
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The decision to put an end date on Tuchel’s time at Bayern, in many ways, feels like a band-aid to calm down both the dressing room and also an increasingly discontent fan scene. Manuel Veth, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 But many long-time moderators remain discontent, and some of the updates haven't materialized yet. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 4 Sep. 2023 Biden has also grappled with anemic approval and favorability ratings that suggest voters are discontent with both politicians. Fritz Farrow, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2023 Things got so bad that even the national government, which is battling sky-high inflation and an increasingly discontent society, found the time to intervene — only to retreat when its effort was mocked as a waste of government resources. Natalie Alcoba, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2022 Dacus: Mine is that Julien and Phoebe are way more willing to be discontent than me (and express that). Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2023 What there is in abundance, though, is discontent not just about the glacial rollout, but a poor communications strategy. William Pesek, Forbes, 16 Apr. 2021 But not everyone was discontent. Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2022 There could already be discontent brewing in Green Bay’s locker room, as Rodgers appeared visibly frustrated with errors that his new receiving corps committed. Catena Media, al, 18 Sep. 2022
Noun
While President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump emerged victorious from Super Tuesday, winning nearly all of their respective primaries, both faced substantial pockets of discontent within their parties. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 In 2014, Republican Larry Hogan rode a wave of discontent over those tax increases to an upset victory in the governor’s race. Erin Cox, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 The law known as Article 23 has long been a source of public discontent in Hong Kong, a former British colony that had been promised certain freedoms when it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. David Pierson, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 As public frustration mounts around financial hardships linked to an ailing economy – and the Communist leadership seeks to block negative narratives and project confidence, officials this year may be particularly wary of any showing of discontent. Simone McCarthy, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 Byron was not a contented soul, yet a chapter of civilization is told by his discontents. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 There is a growing discontent with American education. Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 The initiative backers are plainly intent on riding generalized discontent with taxes to victory. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024 Students aren’t just talking about their discontent with education but walking it, too. Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
Dozens of people traveled up to the Monday’s meeting in the state capital of Austin to voice their support or discontent with the plan. Valerie Gonzalez, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024 Dozens of people traveled up to the Monday's meeting in the state capital of Austin to voice their support or discontent with the plan. Valerie Gonzalez, Quartz, 6 Mar. 2024 As Variety previously reported, several sources say the group, which also include Emma Stone and Ben Affleck, are feeling discontented within the guild ever since talks broke down with the studios. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023 Hollman's death has contributed to discontent with police among some Atlantans that centers on a proposal to build a large public safety training facility. CBS News, 10 Oct. 2023 On the other hand, though, Peruvians themselves were discontent. Cynthia McClintock, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2013 Adding to the pressure, Musk already runs several other companies, including Tesla, where investors have grown discontented with his distractions at Twitter. Sarah Ellison, Washington Post, 11 May 2023 Still, there are clear indications that shareholders are increasingly discontented with the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars being siphoned off to the CEOs. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2023 While social services are popular, higher taxes are not, and discontent with increases such as the ones Suozzi supported represent an electoral liability for his party. Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 12 Dec. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discontent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1581, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1549, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of discontent was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near discontent

Cite this Entry

“Discontent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discontent. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

discontent

1 of 3 adjective
dis·​con·​tent ˌdis-kən-ˈtent How to pronounce discontent (audio)

discontent

2 of 3 verb
: to make discontented
discontentment
-mənt
noun

discontent

3 of 3 noun
: the condition of being dissatisfied

More from Merriam-Webster on discontent

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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