discourage B1 Topic:Actions & Processes US /dɪsˈkɝɪd͡ʒ/ UK /dɪsˈkʌɹɪd͡ʒ/ See IPA manual Freq #18871 Meanings 1 verb To make someone feel less confident or less willing to do something. Don't let one failure discourage you from trying again. 2 verb To try to persuade someone not to do something. The signs are meant to discourage people from feeding the animals. Thesaurus Synonyms 2 verb · to try to persuade someone... deter More dauntdissuade ↔ Opposites encourage Word family Forms discourageddiscouragesdiscouraging Derived forms discourageablediscouragementdiscourageroverdiscourage Etymology AI details From Middle French descourager (modern French décourager), from Old French descouragier, from des- and corage. By surface analysis, dis- + courage. descourager Middle French descouragier Old French View etymology graph -> Topics Actions & Processes External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # discourage **Type:** Word **Level:** B1 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /dɪsˈkɝɪd͡ʒ/ **IPA (UK):** /dɪsˈkʌɹɪd͡ʒ/ **Frequency rank:** 18871 ## Meanings 1. To make someone feel less confident or less willing to do something. 2. To try to persuade someone not to do something. ## Examples - Don't let one failure discourage you from trying again. - The signs are meant to discourage people from feeding the animals. ## Synonyms - daunt - deter - dissuade ## Antonyms - encourage ## Derived Forms - discourageable - discouragement - discourager - overdiscourage ## Roots and Affixes - Root: descourager - Root: descouragier ## Etymology From Middle French descourager (modern French décourager), from Old French descouragier, from des- and corage. By surface analysis, dis- + courage. ## AI Etymology discourage comes from Middle French descourager (modern French décourager), from Old French descouragier, from des- and corage. By surface analysis, dis- + courage. The historical chain includes Middle French descourager, Old French descouragier. Current senses include to make someone feel less confident or less willing to do something and to try to persuade someone not to do something. English relatives and later formations include discourageable, discouragement, discourager. ## Topics - Actions & Processes markdown