demoralise

IPA/dɪmˈɒɹəlˌaɪz/
IPA/dᵻmˈɔːɹəlˌaɪz/

demoralise — verb

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

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

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

Example

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

Common collocations
  • feel demoralised
  • be demoralised by criticism
  • demoralise the team
  • leave workers demoralised
Synonyms
  • 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

Antonyms
  • encourage

    to give someone confidence or support so they keep going

  • inspire

    to fill someone with fresh energy, confidence, or purpose

Grammar Patterns

demoralise + person/group

feel/be demoralised by + setback/criticism

Usage Note

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.

Common Mistakes

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'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Demoralise' means to knock down confidence and fighting spirit, often after repeated failure, criticism, or unfair treatment. 'Discourage' is broader and can simply make someone less willing to continue, even without a strong emotional collapse. 'Dishearten' is close to demoralise but sounds slightly more personal and emotional, with more focus on losing hope. 'Depress' is heavier and suggests a deeper low mood that may last longer. 'Daunt' usually appears before or during a difficult task and highlights fear of the challenge itself. A harsh review might discourage one writer, a month of public attacks could demoralise the whole staff, and a huge exam paper might daunt a student before they begin.

demoralise ↗discourage ↗dishearten ↗depress ↗daunt ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • feel demoralised
  • leave someone demoralised
  • demoralise the team
  • be demoralised by repeated losses

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From French 'démoraliser', built from the prefix 'dé-' and 'moraliser', which comes from 'moral'. The earliest idea was to break a person's moral spirit or fighting condition rather than to corrupt their ethics. In modern English, the verb usually refers to damaging confidence, morale, and the will to continue.