discouragement

noun

dis·​cour·​age·​ment di-ˈskər-ij-mənt How to pronounce discouragement (audio)
-ˈkə-rij-
1
: the act of discouraging : the state of being discouraged
2
: something that discourages

Examples of discouragement in a Sentence

the discouragement of drug use among teenagers She expressed discouragement over the difficulty of finding a good job. The team's losses have left fans with a feeling of discouragement. He says that the tax is a discouragement to doing business in this state. Despite the discouragements of the past week, we need to continue moving forward.
Recent Examples on the Web In today’s deal, West led the jack of hearts against 3NT, and Sam, East, signaled discouragement with the deuce. Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2024 Become a Subscriber The books below, by contrast, are honest about the difficult emotional realities that accompany personal growth—discouragement, self-recrimination, fear of the unknown—and still offer hope. Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 1 Jan. 2024 Despite the discouragement, General Becton left college and returned to active duty. Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2023 Spreading the workload helps avoid burnout and discouragement. Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Nov. 2023 Yet Desmond’s discouragement at the complacency of his class peers does not fully capture the economic dynamics at play. Kim Phillips-Fein, The New Republic, 28 Aug. 2023 Those goals can lead to discouragement or a lack of accountability in tracking progress. Rebecca Strong, Health, 20 July 2023 Both extremes of denial and discouragement are equally dangerous, points out Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate leader who negotiated the Paris Climate Treaty, because both lead to inaction. Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes, 1 Apr. 2023 Compared to the United States, the MeToo movement had made limited headway in China, partly due to official discouragement, including the arrests of feminist activists — until now. Washington Post, 20 July 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discouragement.' 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

1561, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of discouragement was in 1561

Dictionary Entries Near discouragement

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

discouragement

noun
dis·​cour·​age·​ment dis-ˈkər-ij-mənt How to pronounce discouragement (audio)
-ˈkə-rij-
1
: an act of discouraging : the state of being discouraged
2
: something that discourages

More from Merriam-Webster on discouragement

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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