dis ‧ cour ‧ aged /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒd $ -ˈkɜːr-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ encouraged ≠ ↑ discouraged , ↑ encouraging ≠ ↑ discouraging ; verb : ↑ encourage ≠ ↑ discourage ; noun : ↑ encouragement ≠ ↑ discouragement ; adverb : ↑ encouragingly ≠ ↑ discouragingly ]
no longer having the confidence you need to continue doing something SYN demoralized OPP encouraged :
A lot of players get discouraged and quit.
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THESAURUS
■ not confident
▪ lack confidence/be lacking in confidence to not be confident about your abilities or appearance:
Francine is lacking in confidence and needs a lot of encouragement.
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I was fat, had no friends, and lacked confidence.
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While girls lack confidence, boys often overestimate their abilities.
▪ shy not confident about meeting or speaking to people who you do not know:
Jane is a quiet shy person.
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He had been painfully shy (=very shy) as a child.
▪ insecure not confident about yourself or your relationships, especially because you are worried that you are not good enough:
His childhood had left him very insecure.
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Ben’s parents’ divorce left him lonely and insecure.
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Models can make young women feel insecure about their own bodies.
▪ unsure of yourself not confident, especially because you are young or you do not have much experience:
At first, Chris seemed nervous and unsure of herself.
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He was only 21 and still very unsure of himself with girls.
▪ discouraged /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒd $ -ˈkɜːr-/ not confident that you can succeed, because you have had problems trying to do something:
Students can become discouraged very easily if they are not given the help they need.
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I was very discouraged at the time, but I still hoped we could find a solution.
| discouraged by :
Discouraged by her failed marriages, she gradually withdrew from the world.
| discouraged about :
Hartman was so discouraged about the way his performing career was going, that he gave up acting for writing.
▪ demoralized someone who is demoralized has lost all their confidence and wants to give up:
The team were completely demoralized after losing a series of games.
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a demoralized work force
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Many employees became demoralized and cynical when the company announced another round of job cuts.
| utterly/thoroughly demoralized