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")
Antonyms of adj encouraged
1 sense of encouraged
Sense 1
bucked up (predicate), encouraged -- (inspired with confidence; "felt bucked up by his success")
INDIRECT (VIA pleased) -> displeased -- (not pleased; experiencing or manifesting displeasure)
Similarity of adj encouraged
1 sense of encouraged
Sense 1
bucked up (predicate), encouraged -- (inspired with confidence; "felt bucked up by his success")
=> pleased (vs. displeased) -- (experiencing or manifesting pleasure)