What does discourage mean?
Word: Discourage
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Discourage means to make someone lose hope or confidence, or to try to stop someone from doing something.
Synonyms: dishearten, put off, deter
Antonyms: inspire, cheer on
How do you spell discourage?
Syllables: dis - cour - age
Tricky part: The middle is our, the same as in courage. Children often write discurage or discorage.
Watch out for: discurage, discorage, dicourage
Memory tip: Courage needs both its o and its u: O for 'oh no' when you feel scared, U for 'you can do it' when you feel brave.
Discourage in a sentence
Example 1: One bad match should not discourage you from playing.
Example 2: The guard put up signs to discourage people from feeding the monkeys.
Example 3: Heavy rain discouraged many visitors from coming to the fair.
Fun Fact
Courage comes from the Old French corage, built on cuer, the heart, so to discourage someone is to take the heart out of them.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
discourage
a) prevent
b) frighten
c) disturb
d) encourage
Show answer
d) encourage. Encourage means to give courage, the opposite of taking it away.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) confidance
b) nervus
c) discourage
d) behavour
Show answer
c) discourage. Confidence ends in ence, nervous has ou before the s, and behaviour needs its i.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
ruaogsdice
a) discovered
b) discourage
c) dialogues
d) courageous
Show answer
b) discourage. Courageous would need a second u and a second o, and discovered a v, so the ten letters make discourage.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
disscourage
a) c
b) s
c) r
d) u
Show answer
b) s. Courage begins with c, so the s of dis stays single.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Losing the first three games did not discourage Anu. What did she do?
a) left the hall early
b) asked to stop
c) gave up the game
d) kept on playing
Show answer
d) kept on playing
2. Which sign is meant to discourage littering?
a) Fresh coconut water here
b) Park open from 6 am
c) Welcome to City Park
d) Heavy fine for littering
Show answer
d) Heavy fine for littering
