What does discourage mean?
To discourage is to diminish someone's confidence, hope, or willingness to act — whether deliberately, as when rules are designed to discourage littering, or as an unintended effect of setbacks and criticism. A student discouraged by a poor grade may abandon a subject altogether; high prices can discourage shoppers. The word also describes active deterrence, where obstacles, warnings, or disincentives are put in place to make an action less appealing. Grammatically, it works both transitively with a person ("the news discouraged them") and with an activity ("measures to discourage smoking"), often followed by "from" plus a gerund. Its emotional weight comes from its literal roots: formed from the Latin "cor," meaning heart, it originally meant to deprive someone of heart or spirit. That imagery remains vivid today, making "discourage" a precise and evocative choice whenever enthusiasm is being worn down rather than argued away.
verbTo cause someone to lose confidence, enthusiasm, or determination to do something; to try to prevent something by making it seem difficult, unwise, or unappealing.
- To cause someone to lose confidence, hope, or enthusiasm for something they were doing or intending to do.
- To attempt to prevent an action by making it seem difficult, risky, or undesirable; to deter.
"The repeated rejections did little to discourage her from pursuing a career in music."
"Despite the harsh reviews, nothing could discourage the young novelist from writing her second book."
"The city installed speed bumps to discourage drivers from cutting through residential streets."
At its root, "discourage" literally means to take away someone's heart — from the Latin "cor," meaning heart — which is exactly what failure feels like.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of discourage
Discourage entered English in the late Middle English period via Old French "descoragier", built on the Latin root "cor" (heart), with the prefix conveying removal or reversal. It thus originally meant to deprive someone of heart or courage, a sense still visible in its modern use for draining someone's resolve. It shares this heart-root with "courage," "encourage," and "cordial," all descendants of the same Latin noun.
Related word forms
How discourage is actually used
The verb takes two common patterns: "discourage someone from doing something" (removing motivation) and "discourage something" (deterring a practice). The past participle "discouraged" is widely used adjectivally to describe a person's emotional state. It is neutral in register and common in both formal writing and everyday speech; the sense involving emotional deflation carries a clearly negative connotation for the person affected.
Easily confused with discourage
"Dissuade" means specifically to persuade someone not to do something through argument or advice, while "discourage" more broadly means to sap enthusiasm or make something seem unappealing.