discouraged

discouraged — adjective

1. Feeling that something will not succeed or improve, which makes you want to stop

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Feeling that something will not succeed or improve, which makes you want to stop putting effort into it.

Example

After failing the driving test twice, Arjun felt too discouraged to sign up for another lesson.

too discouraged + to-infinitive pattern

The discouraged look on the children's faces told Jisoo that the field trip had been cancelled.

attributive: discouraged + noun

Common collocations
  • deeply discouraged
  • slightly discouraged
  • too discouraged
  • discouraged by
  • discouraged about
  • discouraged from
Synonyms
  • disheartened

    Very close in meaning, often used when hopes have been let down

  • demoralized

    Stronger — suggests a loss of fighting spirit, often after repeated setbacks

  • dejected

    Focuses more on a sad, low mood than on giving up effort

Antonyms
  • encouraged

    Having renewed hope or confidence

  • hopeful

    Optimistic that things will turn out well

Grammar Patterns

feel/get/look/become/seem + discouraged

discouraged + noun

too discouraged + to-infinitive

discouraged + about/by/at/with + noun phrase

Usage Note

Frequently used with linking verbs: feel, look, become, get, seem. The cause of discouragement typically appears after 'by', 'about', 'at', or 'with'. In attributive position (before a noun), it describes a person's expression or mood: a discouraged sigh, a discouraged voice.

Common Mistakes

The bad news made me very discouraging.
The bad news made me very discouraged.
'-ed' describes how you feel; '-ing' describes something that causes the feeling.

Word family

  • discourage
    verbB1
  • discouraging
    adjectiveB2
  • discouragement
    nounB2
  • discouragingly
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe a drop in positive feeling, but they differ in cause and intensity. 'Discouraged' is the most general — it suggests you have lost some confidence or will to continue because of difficulty or lack of progress. 'Disheartened' is very similar but often implies that a specific disappointment broke your spirit. 'Demoralized' is stronger: it means your team, group, or personal resolve has been seriously weakened, often after repeated failures or unfair treatment. 'Dejected' is less about giving up and more about looking or feeling sad and defeated. Someone can be dejected after a single small rejection, while being demoralized usually takes more. In a practical sentence: 'Constanza felt discouraged when her painting was rejected from the gallery show, but she signed up for another one the next week. The whole art club, however, was demoralized after the city cut their funding for the third year in a row.'

dishearteneddemoralizeddejecteddownhearted

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • too discouraged to
  • discouraged from trying
  • become discouraged

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'discourage' entered English around the 1400s from the Old French 'descouragier', which meant 'to lose one's courage'. It was built from the prefix 'des-' (away, apart) and 'corage' (heart, spirit, courage). The adjective form 'discouraged' appeared later, describing the state of having had one's heart or spirit taken away by difficulty.