/ dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒ; NAmE -ˈkɜːr-/ verb
1.
discourage sth | discourage sb from doing sth to try to prevent sth or to prevent sb from doing sth, especially by making it difficult to do or by showing that you do not approve of it :
[ vn ]
a campaign to discourage smoking among teenagers
I leave a light on when I'm out to discourage burglars.
His parents tried to discourage him from being an actor.
[also v -ing ]
2.
[ vn ] discourage sb (from doing sth) to make sb feel less confident or enthusiastic about doing sth
SYN dishearten :
Don't be discouraged by the first failure—try again!
The weather discouraged people from attending.
OPP encourage
► dis·cour·aged adjective [ not usually before noun ]
SYN disheartened :
Learners can feel very discouraged if an exercise is too difficult.
► dis·cour·aging adjective :
a discouraging experience / response / result
► dis·cour·aging·ly adverb
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French descouragier , from des- (expressing reversal) + corage courage.