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discouraged

adj.
US //dɪˈskɝədʒd// UK //dɪskˈʌɹɪdʒd// dis·cour·aged
  1. 1 feeling hopeless (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    feeling like you have lost your confidence or hope because of a problem or failure.

    having lost confidence, spirit, or hope; experiencing a state of dejection due to perceived obstacles.

    Example

    He felt discouraged after his job application was rejected for the third time.

    Example

    Despite the initial setbacks, the research team refused to become discouraged, viewing each failed experiment as a necessary step toward the final solution.

    Usage

    often follows 'feel', 'become', or 'get'
    Pitfall
    The difficult exam made me feel discouraging.
    The difficult exam made me feel discouraged.

    Use '-ed' to describe how a person feels and '-ing' to describe the thing that causes the feeling.

  2. 2 not recommended (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Formal

    describing an action that people are advised not to do, though it might not be strictly forbidden.

    describing an action or behaviour that is advised against or viewed with disfavour by an authority.

    Example

    Using personal phones during the meeting is strongly discouraged by the manager.

    Example

    In many academic disciplines, the use of first-person pronouns in formal research papers is traditionally discouraged in favour of a more objective tone.

    Usage

    often used in passive constructions or official guidelines

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is common in technical or administrative contexts, such as software documentation or workplace policies.

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