demoralized
demoralized — 形容詞
1. feeling so discouraged that you have lost the confidence, enthusiasm, and will t
沮喪的；氣餒的
失去信心和希望而沮喪
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.
連輸十二場比賽後，這支籃球隊在場上顯得士氣全失。
collocation: completely demoralized
The demoralized nurses watched three more colleagues quit the understaffed hospital ward.
那群沮喪的護士眼睜睜看著又有三位同事離開了人力不足的醫院病房。
Lin felt too demoralized to fill out another job application after twenty rejections.
林先生在被拒絕二十次後，感到十分氣餒，連再填一份求職申請的力氣都沒有。
Demoralized by years of empty promises, the villagers stopped attending town meetings.
多年的空頭承諾讓村民感到氣餒，他們不再出席鎮民大會了。
The team grew demoralized when their best player was injured just before the final match.
當隊上最強的球員在決賽前受傷時，整支球隊越來越沮喪。
- 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 — 動詞
1. to make a person or group feel that they no longer have the confidence or hope t
打擊士氣；使氣餒
讓人失去信心或熱情
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.
校長不斷的抱怨打擊了老師們的士氣，最後有幾位老師辭職了。
demoralize + direct object (person/group)
A string of budget cuts demoralized the research lab more than any failed experiment ever could.
一連串的預算削減比任何失敗的實驗都更讓研究室團隊士氣低落。
Nothing demoralizes a classroom faster than a teacher who clearly does not believe in the students.
沒有什麼比一位明顯不信任學生的老師更快打擊班上士氣的了。
The refugee families were demoralized by the news that their application process would take another year.
聽聞申請程序還需要再等一年，這些難民家庭感到非常沮喪。
- 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
擾亂；破壞
使正常功能或秩序失常
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.
貪腐醜聞打擊了整個部門的士氣，導致日常運作完全停擺。
demoralize + organization, with consequence clause: bringing...to a halt
Years of unfair treatment demoralized the nursing staff until the ward could barely function.
長年不公平的待遇使護理人員士氣低落，病房最後幾乎無法正常運作。
The sudden funding cuts demoralized the research team so deeply that months of work fell into chaos.
經費突然被砍，研究團隊士氣大受打擊，幾個月的工作陷入一團混亂。
- 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.