dishearten

Sap one's resolve

To dishearten is to cause someone to lose confidence, hope, or enthusiasm.

Bad news disheartens; repeated failures dishearten.

She was disheartened by the rejection letter.

The adjective disheartening describes what causes this effect: a disheartening lack of progress.

Disheartened describes the resulting state.

discourage

dispirit

Cause to lose hope

demoralizeDestroy confidence or resolve
dismayDistressed loss of courage
dauntDiscourage through fear

deter · dissuade · demotivate · deflate · unnerve · undermine · disenchant · sap · shake · dampen

emotional-state

dejected

Low in spirits

crestfallenSad from disappointment
downcastSad or despondent
dispiritedHaving lost heart

despondent · forlorn · melancholy · glum · downhearted · heavy-hearted · low-spirited · woebegone · demoralized · disconsolate

hopelessness

despair

Total absence of hope

despondencyProfound loss of hope
futilityLack of purpose
helplessnessLacking ability to cope

bleakness · desolation · resignation · fatalism · pessimism · defeatism · discouragement · disillusionment · abandonment · surrender

causes

failure

Lack of success

rejectionDenial of acceptance
criticismJudgment of faults
setbackReverse in progress

loss · disappointment · obstacle · hardship · adversity · defeat · rebuff · snub · humiliation · betrayal

Categories

discouraging actionsdeter, dissuade, daunt, demoralize, dispirit
burdensburden, load, onus, obligations, weight
Shakespeare phrasesto be or not to be, et tu Brute, all the world's a stage, out damned spot, friends Romans countrymen

Opposites

emotional effect on spirit/morale

disheartenhearten

To give courage

encourage · inspirit · embolden · cheer · uplift

Family

disheartened, disheartening, disheartens, disheartenment, disheartener

Familiarity: Top 100,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G