demoralized
demoralized — adjective
1. feeling so discouraged that you have lost the confidence, enthusiasm, and will t
feeling so discouraged that you have lost the confidence, enthusiasm, and will to keep trying — like a player after one defeat too many or a worker whose efforts never seem to matter.
After losing twelve games in a row, the basketball team looked completely demoralized on the court.
collocation: completely demoralized
The demoralized nurses watched three more colleagues quit the understaffed hospital ward.
Lin felt too demoralized to fill out another job application after twenty rejections.
Demoralized by years of empty promises, the villagers stopped attending town meetings.
The team grew demoralized when their best player was injured just before the final match.
- discouraged
less intense; losing confidence rather than all hope
- disheartened
similar in meaning but slightly more formal; focuses on loss of heart
- crestfallen
suggests visible, temporary disappointment after a specific event
- encouraged
gaining confidence and hope
- heartened
feeling more positive after support
用法筆記
Often appears with verbs like 'feel', 'look', 'become', or 'grow' that describe a change in emotional state. Subject is usually a person or a group.
常見錯誤
demoralized — verb
1. to make a person or group feel that they no longer have the confidence or hope t
to make a person or group feel that they no longer have the confidence or hope they need to succeed, typically by piling on setbacks, criticism, or unfair treatment.
The principal's constant complaints demoralized the teachers until several of them resigned.
demoralize + direct object (person/group)
A string of budget cuts demoralized the research lab more than any failed experiment ever could.
Nothing demoralizes a classroom faster than a teacher who clearly does not believe in the students.
The refugee families were demoralized by the news that their application process would take another year.
- discourage
less intense; a smaller blow to confidence
- dishearten
close in meaning, slightly more formal; emphasizes loss of 'heart'/'spirit'
- unnerve
focuses on making someone lose courage or composure, often through fear
文法句型
demoralize + noun phrase
be demoralized by + noun phrase
用法筆記
Very common in the passive voice ('were demoralized by'). The subject causing the feeling is typically a situation (budget cuts, bad news, criticism) rather than a person — though a person can be the agent.
常見錯誤
2. to weaken the morale of a group or organization so severely that its normal func
to weaken the morale of a group or organization so severely that its normal functioning breaks down or falls into disorder.
The corruption scandal demoralized the entire department, bringing routine operations to a halt.
demoralize + organization, with consequence clause: bringing...to a halt
Years of unfair treatment demoralized the nursing staff until the ward could barely function.
The sudden funding cuts demoralized the research team so deeply that months of work fell into chaos.
- stabilize
to make a group or organization orderly and reliable
- revitalize
to restore energy and morale to a group
文法句型
demoralize + group/organization
demoralize + so + adverb + that-clause
用法筆記
The object is a group, department, or organization. The resulting disorder is an indirect effect of low morale among the people involved. Distinguished from sense 1 by the focus on organizational breakdown rather than individual emotional state.