1
as in paralyzing
to deprive of courage or confidence
the mere sight of the forbidding cliffs demoralized the climbers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in frustrating
to lessen the courage or confidence of
we refused to be demoralized by our humiliating defeat and vowed to come roaring back the following week
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in degrading
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
felt society as a whole has been demoralized by the widespread availability of pornography
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in discouraging
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demoralizing
George Bradt, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
To start the season 0-2 can be a bit demoralizing.
—Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
To have all that flipped on its side, turned around 180 degrees and made to seem dark and sinister, that's very demoralizing and heartbreaking.
—Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
Watching what’s unfolding around us can be demoralizing.
—Stacey Abrams, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
Kyle Schwarber unwrapped tape from his forearms after the latest setback, a demoralizing 6-5 defeat to the New York Mets.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the upcoming season with title aspirations after suffering a demoralizing series loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, after earning the first seed.
—Gavin Groe, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
The demoralizing blowout was tough to take for Seminole.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
The back-and-forth over grant cancellations has been especially demoralizing.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
What was meant to be motivating becomes demoralizing.
—George Bradt, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
To start the season 0-2 can be a bit demoralizing.
—Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
To have all that flipped on its side, turned around 180 degrees and made to seem dark and sinister, that's very demoralizing and heartbreaking.
—Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
Watching what’s unfolding around us can be demoralizing.
—Stacey Abrams, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
Kyle Schwarber unwrapped tape from his forearms after the latest setback, a demoralizing 6-5 defeat to the New York Mets.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the upcoming season with title aspirations after suffering a demoralizing series loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, after earning the first seed.
—Gavin Groe, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
The demoralizing blowout was tough to take for Seminole.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
The back-and-forth over grant cancellations has been especially demoralizing.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoralizing
Verb
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Audience members don't have to work very hard to imagine the paralyzing terror that King Hang's character feels.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Doctors spent several minutes resuscitating Luka before making the difficult decision to use a paralyzing agent to stop him from moving and potentially hurting himself.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Chinese regulators are now discouraging domestic tech giants from buying Nvidia chips, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
21 Sep. 2025
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Beyond these issues of fatigue and trust, poor user experience can also go a long way in discouraging people from using security workflows.—
Eyal Benishti,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Wall Street anticipated interest rates to be eased in recent weeks, following hotter-than-expected jobs data that indicated the labor market was degrading at a faster pace than projected, and inflation, which ticked up again in August while still above the central bank’s 2% goal.—
Ty Roush,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Furthermore, a protective crystalline layer is then applied to the tape to prevent the DNA from degrading.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
At the end of the day, the result was a bit disheartening.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Seeing that textbook go to waste felt very disheartening.—
Sami Khan,
Mercury News,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instances of swatting have been plaguing the nation for years, with fake shooting threats frightening the public and forcing schools, hospitals, grocery stores, office buildings, and airports into temporary lockdowns.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
For some—for me—the experience of certain kinds of anxiety has a disconcerting synesthetic quality.—
Scott Stossel,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
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The disconcerting answer is that nobody knows.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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We got handed a lot of paperwork that at first was sort of intimidating.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Sep. 2025
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Despite their intimidating appearance, Joro spiders are considered shy and are not a significant threat to people or pets.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demoralizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoralizing. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
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