as in to discourage
to lessen the courage or confidence of
we were disheartened by the news that our grandmother was seriously ill
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in despair
the state of being discouraged
our excusable disheartenment in the face of overwhelming odds against winning the game
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dishearten
Levi Weaver, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Not receiving what was anticipated is disheartening.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
Politicians in the Golden State vigorously promoted disinformation about Biden to mislead the public and placate a Democratic base that was becoming increasingly disheartened.
—Matt Klink, Oc Register, 28 May 2025
So far, that mission has left the doctor disheartened.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dishearten
Verb
Somehow, the Nats’ season has been both disheartening and predictable.
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Not receiving what was anticipated is disheartening.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
Politicians in the Golden State vigorously promoted disinformation about Biden to mislead the public and placate a Democratic base that was becoming increasingly disheartened.
—Matt Klink, Oc Register, 28 May 2025
So far, that mission has left the doctor disheartened.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dishearten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dishearten
Verb
-
Bailey made headlines leading up to the draft by reportedly discouraging Philadelphia from selecting him, and even attempted to do the same with Utah.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
-
President Snow, facing growing unrest across the nation as a result of the pair’s joint victory, demands that Katniss and Peeta pretend to be in love during their Victory Tour to discourage any rebellions.—
Kelly Martinez Published,
EW.com,
5 July 2025
Noun
-
This is the despair of wrestlers: unredeemed perspiration, useless bruises.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
6 July 2025
-
For the most part, professors were, yes, in despair.—
Sean Illing,
Vox,
5 July 2025
Verb
-
Williams often got frustrated with him and told him to be quiet.—
Michael Cuglietta,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 July 2025
-
Even so, our reporting left me feeling mostly frustrated with my brain.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
Bayern forward Harry Kane was on his knees, checking on Musiala’s well-being, as was captain Joshua Kimmich, who took one look at his young team-mate’s left leg and turned away in apparent dismay.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
6 July 2025
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The legislation also has a large-scale rollback of clean-energy initiatives, to the dismay of everyone from climate activists to Elon Musk.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dishearten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dishearten. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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