disheartening

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dɪsˈhɑrtənɪŋ/ UK /dɪsˈhɑːtənɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
causing a loss of hope or enthusiasm; discouraging

The poll results were disheartening to the campaign.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · causing a loss of hope or... discouragingdispiritingdemoralizingdepressing disappointing daunting

Opposites

heartening encouraging inspiring uplifting cheering

Word family

Derived forms dishearteningly

Related forms dishearten hearten heart

Etymology

Present participle of dishearten, from dis- ('reversal') + hearten, from heart; heart from Old English heorte, from Proto-Germanic *hertô, from PIE *ḱerd- ('heart').

heorte Old English *hertô Proto-Germanic *ḱerd- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# disheartening

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /dɪsˈhɑrtənɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪsˈhɑːtənɪŋ/

## Meanings
1. causing a loss of hope or enthusiasm; discouraging

## Examples
- The poll results were disheartening to the campaign.

## Synonyms
- discouraging
- dispiriting
- demoralizing
- depressing
- disappointing
- daunting

## Antonyms
- heartening
- encouraging
- inspiring
- uplifting
- cheering

## Derived Forms
- dishearteningly

## Related Forms
- dishearten
- hearten
- heart

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: heorte
- Root: *hertô
- Root: *ḱerd-

## Etymology
Present participle of dishearten, from dis- ('reversal') + hearten, from heart; heart from Old English heorte, from Proto-Germanic *hertô, from PIE *ḱerd- ('heart').

## AI Etymology
Disheartening is the present participle of dishearten, from dis- ('reversal') + hearten, from heart; heart from Old English heorte, from Proto-Germanic *hertô, from PIE *ḱerd- ('heart'). The ancestry passes through Old English heorte, Proto-Germanic *hertô, and Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd-. The prefix dis- often marks separation, reversal, or negation in Latin and English formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as an adjective, it means "causing a loss of hope or enthusiasm; discouraging", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include dishearten, hearten, and heart; derived forms include dishearteningly.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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