Antonyms of verb encourage

1 of 3 senses of encourage

Sense 2
encourage -- (inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to)
       Antonym of discourage (Sense 2)
      => discourage -- (deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged)

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb encourage

3 senses of encourage

Sense 1
promote, advance, boost, further, encourage -- (contribute to the progress or growth of; "I am promoting the use of computers in the classroom")
       => support, back up -- (give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to; "She supported him during the illness"; "Her children always backed her up")

Sense 2
encourage -- (inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to)
       => inspire, animate, invigorate, enliven, exalt -- (heighten or intensify; "These paintings exalt the imagination")

Sense 3
encourage -- (spur on; "His financial success encouraged him to look for a wife")
       => induce, stimulate, cause, have, get, make -- (cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner; "The ads induced me to buy a VCR"; "My children finally got me to buy a computer"; "My wife made me buy a new sofa")