1
as in to paralyze
to deprive of courage or confidence
the mere sight of the forbidding cliffs demoralized the climbers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to discourage
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
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3
as in to humiliate
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
felt society as a whole has been demoralized by the widespread availability of pornography
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demoralize
One reason is that the fan base is demoralized after La Vinotinto was routed 6-3 by Colombia in the final qualifying date last month and failed to earn a World Cup playoff spot.
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Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2025
Some talked about food prices and the cost of living; others talked about being demoralized by war.
—Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
That's left federal workers, already drained and demoralized by months of layoffs and funding cuts, scrambling to figure out how to cope with the possibility of weeks without pay and a new round of layoffs, according to nearly two dozen federal workers who reached out to NBC News.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2025
Citizens, environmental groups and tribal stakeholders are demoralized by this and the prioritization of industrial logging, embrace of pseudoscience, non-transparency, poor responsiveness to public and expert comments, and meetings held while stakeholders are at work.
—John P. O’Brien, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoralize
Verb
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Cuban officials acknowledged at the end of last year the country’s economy is yet again paralyzed due to fuel shortages and power stations constantly breaking down.—
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This week's protests are the biggest in three years, since nationwide demonstrations triggered by the death of a young woman in custody in late 2022 paralyzed Iran for weeks, with rights groups reporting hundreds killed.—
Verb
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Despite being one of the top defenses all season, the last month has been discouraging.—
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This design helps prevent condensation buildup and discourages rodents and pests, while still reducing the risk of damage from falling debris during winter storms.—
Verb
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And videotaping it to humiliate them.—
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She had never been arrested before and felt humiliated when her mugshot was plastered all over the news after her arrest.—
Verb
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Ryan Thornton, 37, of Racine, was initially charged in October in Dane County with stalking and misdemeanor counts of intimidating a victim and disorderly conduct.—
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Salerno claims her team was disqualified from the following meet, and then began to face intimidating stares from the trans athlete at public events.—
Verb
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Games that are too easy bore older players, while overly complex games can frustrate younger ones.—
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But while Coogan racked up millions of views for his YouTube explainers about political figures like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, he was frustrated by the hours of prep work that went into producing a single episode.—
Verb
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His mother previously told the Observer that his mental health degraded in the COVID-19 pandemic.—
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The information ecosystem is degrading more each moment.—
Verb
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The Secretary of State called the event an attempt to frighten public servants.—
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But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.—
Verb
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Evergreen branches bent under the weight of snow are already weakened; sweeping down the length of the branch toward the ground adds to the stress and increases the potential for breakage.—
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These policies impose devastating costs on American citizens, weakening our economy, increasing the national debt, straining public budgets and tearing families apart.—
Cite this Entry
“Demoralize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoralize. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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