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| dis·cour·age [ diss kúr ij ] (past and past participle dis·cour·aged, present participle dis·cour·ag·ing, 3rd person present singular dis·cour·ag·es) |
transitive verb |
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| Definition: |
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1. tend to stop something: to tend to prevent something from happening by making it more difficult or unpleasant
  dirty beaches that discourage sunbathing
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2. try to deter somebody: to try to stop a person or animal from doing something
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3. make somebody less optimistic: to make somebody feel less motivated, confident, or optimistic
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| [15th century. < Old French descoragier "deprive of courage" < corage "courage"] |
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| dis·cour·age·ment noun |
| dis·cour·ag·er noun |
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