demoralise

demoralise — verb

1. to make a person or group lose confidence and motivation, especially after failu

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to make a person or group lose confidence and motivation, especially after failure, criticism, or repeated difficulty

例句

The second straight defeat demoralised the young team before the finals.

demoralise + group after defeat

Weeks of rude comments online demoralised Hana and stopped her from posting her art.

repeated criticism demoralises a person

同義詞
  • discourage

    broader and often milder; it can simply reduce someone's willingness to continue

  • dishearten

    close in meaning but slightly more personal and emotional

  • depress

    stronger and heavier; suggests a deeper, longer-lasting low mood

  • daunt

    focuses more on fear of a difficult task than on worn-down morale

反義詞
  • encourage

    to give someone confidence or support so they keep going

  • inspire

    to fill someone with fresh energy, confidence, or purpose

文法句型

demoralise + person/group

feel/be demoralised by + setback/criticism

用法筆記

Often describes the effect of repeated setbacks, criticism, or unfair conditions on a person or group. Passive patterns such as feel demoralised or be demoralised by are especially common after bad news or defeat.

常見錯誤

❌The staff demoralised after the announcement.
✅The staff felt demoralised after the announcement.
💡'demoralise' is transitive; use 'demoralised' for the resulting feeling.
❌The speech demoralised to the players.
✅The speech demoralised the players.
💡use a direct object after 'demoralise', not 'to'.