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Definition of discourage verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

discourage

verb
 
/dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒ/
 
/dɪsˈkɜːrɪdʒ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they discourage
 
/dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒ/
 
/dɪsˈkɜːrɪdʒ/
he / she / it discourages
 
/dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒɪz/
 
/dɪsˈkɜːrɪdʒɪz/
past simple discouraged
 
/dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒd/
 
/dɪsˈkɜːrɪdʒd/
past participle discouraged
 
/dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒd/
 
/dɪsˈkɜːrɪdʒd/
-ing form discouraging
 
/dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒɪŋ/
 
/dɪsˈkɜːrɪdʒɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. to try to prevent something or to prevent somebody from doing something, especially by making it difficult to do or by showing that you do not approve of it
    • discourage (doing) something a campaign to discourage investing in fossil fuel development
    • discourage somebody I leave a light on when I'm out to discourage burglars.
    • discourage somebody from doing something His parents tried to discourage him from being an actor.
    Extra Examples
    • Travel to the region is actively discouraged.
    • We tried to discourage him from resigning.
    • We strongly discourage competitive behaviour.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • actively
    • positively
    • strongly
    verb + discourage
    • try to
    preposition
    • from
    phrases
    • (not) easily discouraged
    See full entry
  2. to make somebody feel less confident or enthusiastic about doing something synonym dishearten
    • discourage somebody/something Don't be discouraged by the first failure—try again!
    • discourage somebody from doing something The weather discouraged people from attending.
    Extra Examples
    • I'm not easily discouraged.
    • From boyhood he had been easily discouraged by obstacles in his path.
    • High interest rates will discourage investment.
    • Our system effectively discourages investment.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • actively
    • positively
    • strongly
    verb + discourage
    • try to
    preposition
    • from
    phrases
    • (not) easily discouraged
    See full entry
  3. opposite encourage
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French descouragier, from des- (expressing reversal) + corage ‘courage’.
See discourage in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee discourage in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
pepper
noun
 
 
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