DISCOURAGEMENT: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for DISCOURAGEMENT?

Need another word that means the same as “discouragement”? Find 19 synonyms and 30 related words for “discouragement” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Discouragement” are: disheartenment, dismay, dispiritedness, downheartedness, dejection, depression, demoralization, disappointment, despondency, hopelessness, lack of enthusiasm, lack of confidence, pessimism, despair, gloom, gloominess, low spirits, deterrent, disincentive

Discouragement as a Noun

Definitions of "Discouragement" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “discouragement” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• The feeling of despair in the face of obstacles.
• A loss of confidence or enthusiasm; dispiritedness.
• An attempt to prevent something by showing disapproval or creating difficulties; deterrent.
• The expression of opposition and disapproval.
• The act of discouraging.

Synonyms of "Discouragement" as a noun (19 Words)

dejection	Solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels. He was slumped in deep dejection.
demoralization	Depression resulting from an undermining of your morale. His inconsistency resulted in the demoralization of his staff.
depression	A period during the 1930s when there was a worldwide economic depression and mass unemployment. Hurricanes start off as loose regions of bad weather known as tropical depressions.
despair	The complete loss or absence of hope. One harsh word would send her into the depths of despair.
despondency	Low spirits from loss of hope or courage; dejection. An air of despondency.
deterrent	Something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress. Cameras are a major deterrent to crime.
disappointment	A person or thing that causes disappointment. I was a big disappointment to her.
disheartenment	A communication that leaves you disheartened or daunted.
disincentive	A factor, especially a financial disadvantage, that discourages a particular action. Spiralling house prices are beginning to act as a disincentive to development.
dismay	Concern and distress caused by something unexpected. To his dismay she left him.
dispiritedness	A feeling of low spirits.
downheartedness	A feeling of low spirits.
gloom	A state of partial or total darkness. Gloom pervaded the office.
gloominess	A feeling of melancholy apprehension.
hopelessness	The despair you feel when you have abandoned hope of comfort or success. His face bears the expression of utter hopelessness.
lack of confidence	The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable.
lack of enthusiasm	The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable.
low spirits	An air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation.
pessimism	The feeling that things will turn out badly. The dispute cast an air of deep pessimism over the future of the peace talks.

Usage Examples of "Discouragement" as a noun

• The discouragement of crime.
• The discouragement of petty theft.
• Do not give in to discouragement.

Associations of "Discouragement" (30 Words)

alarming	Worrying or disturbing. Our countryside is disappearing at an alarming rate.
angst	A feeling of persistent worry about something trivial. Rock and pop have a tradition of celebrating adolescent angst.
consternation	Fear resulting from the awareness of danger. To her consternation her car wouldn t start.
demoralize	Corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality. The boss s behavior demoralized everyone in the office.
depress	Make (someone) feel utterly dispirited or dejected. The lack of rain had depressed the water level in the reservoir.
despair	Abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart. She despaired of finding a good restaurant nearby.
desperately	In intense despair. I am desperately disappointed.
desperation	Desperate recklessness. It was a policy of desperation.
despond	Lose confidence or hope; become dejected. The supporters of the Presidential candidate desponded when they learned the early results of the election.
despondency	Feeling downcast and disheartened and hopeless. An air of despondency.
disappoint	Fail to meet the hopes or expectations of. The governing coalition had bitterly disappointed the hopes of its voters.
disappointing	Not up to expectations. A disappointing performance from one who had seemed so promising.
disappointment	A person or thing that causes disappointment. His hopes were so high he was doomed to disappointment.
dismay	Lower someone’s spirits; make downhearted. They were dismayed by the U turn in policy.
failure	Lack of success. He resented my failure to return his call.
frustration	The prevention of the progress, success, or fulfilment of something. The inherent frustrations of assembly line work.
futility	Uselessness as a consequence of having no practical result. The horror and futility of war.
gloom	Make dark or dismal. Charles was always glooming about money.
grief	Intense sorrow, especially caused by someone’s death. She was overcome with grief.
heartache	Intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death. The familiar pang of heartache.
heaviness	An oppressive quality that is laborious and solemn and lacks grace or fluency. A sudden heaviness overpowers me.
hopelessness	The despair you feel when you have abandoned hope of comfort or success. I was overcome by the hopelessness of the situation.
melancholy	A humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy. Growing more melancholy every hour.
miserable	(of a person) wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable. Horribly wet and miserable conditions.
mourning	The passionate and demonstrative activity of expressing grief. If he dies she ll put on mourning but she won t cry.
pessimism	The feeling that things will turn out badly. The dispute cast an air of deep pessimism over the future of the peace talks.
sad	Of things that make you feel sad. He told her the sad story of his life.
sadness	The quality of excessive mournfulness and uncheerfulness. She tired of his perpetual sadness.
slough	Necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass. The economic slough of the interwar years.
sorrow	An event or circumstance that causes sorrow. A woman had cried all night sorrowing over the death of her husband.