discourage
part of speech
verb (discourage, discourages, discouraged, discouraging)
meaning for a pupil
1) To make someone feel less confident or less hopeful. tree →
2) To try to stop someone from doing something by showing them it is not a good idea: «discourage someone from doing». tree →
3) To make something less likely to happen: «Fences discourage burglars.» tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and everyday life, a bad mark can discourage a pupil, but teachers encourage them to keep going. In safety and science, things are done to discourage pests, litter or crime: «Lights discourage burglars», «Netting discourages birds». Phrases: «discourage from», «don't be discouraged», «easily discouraged».
examples
- Don't let one bad score discourage you. tree →
- Signs discourage people from dropping litter. tree →
- Her parents discouraged her from swimming in the cold sea. tree →
- Bright lights discourage burglars. tree →
- The rain didn't discourage the fans from coming. tree →
- He was discouraged when his tower fell down again. tree →
- She knew that it was for her boy’s good that he should leave her now, and she must not discourage him just as he was setting out. tree →
note
Opposite: «encourage». Pattern: «discourage someone from + -ing» (not «to»). Adjective: «discouraging»/«discouraged»; noun: «discouragement».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «discourage» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.