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Disheartened Meaning: Definition, Examples, and Translations

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disheartened

dis-heart-ened

🇺🇸 /dɪsˈhɑɹtənd/ · 🇬🇧 /dɪshˈɑːtənd/

Definition

Context #1 | Adjective

feeling discouraged or demotivated

Feeling disheartened can often lead to a lack of motivation and a sense of hopelessness. It is a state of emotional distress that can be caused by setbacks, failures, or disappointments.

Synonyms

dejected, demoralized, discouraged.

Which Synonym Should You Choose?

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Word Description / Examples
disheartened

Used when someone feels a loss of motivation or enthusiasm because of setbacks or difficulties.

  • She felt disheartened after receiving several rejection letters from publishers.
  • The team was disheartened by the early goal from the opposing side.
discouraged

When someone loses the will to continue because they face obstacles or difficulties.

  • She was discouraged by the lack of progress in her project.
  • His poor exam results left him feeling discouraged about his academic future.
demoralized

Commonly used when someone feels a loss of confidence or hope due to continuous failures or criticism.

  • The staff felt demoralized by the constant negative feedback from the management.
  • After numerous setbacks, the researcher was demoralized and considered giving up.
dejected

Appropriate when someone feels sad and down because of disappointment or failure.

  • He looked dejected after losing the final match.
  • She was dejected when she didn't get the job she wanted.

Examples of usage

  • I felt disheartened after failing my exam.
  • She was disheartened by the negative feedback she received.
  • The team was disheartened by their recent loss.

Translations

To see the translation, please select a language from the options available.

Quick facts about “disheartened”

Disheartened is a 3-syllable adjective (dis-heart-ened). It is pronounced /dɪsˈhɑɹtənd/ in American English and /dɪshˈɑːtənd/ in British English. On finesentence.com it has 1 meaning, 3 synonyms, and translations into 21 languages. It ranks #22,385 among the most common English words.

Origin of 'disheartened'

The word 'disheartened' originated from the combination of 'dis-' (meaning 'opposite of' or 'deprive of') and 'heartened' (meaning 'to make brave or enthusiastic'). It first appeared in the mid-17th century in English literature, where it was used to describe a feeling of discouragement or loss of enthusiasm.

See also: brokenhearted, dishearten, disheartening, halfheartedly, heart, heartache, heartbeat, heartbreak, heartbreaker, heartbreaking, heartbreakingly, heartbroken, heartening, heartfelt, heartily, heartland, heartless, heartlessly, heartlessness, heartsease, heartthrob, heartwarming, hearty.

Rhymes

Disheartened rhymes with heartened and smartened.

See all rhymes →

Word Frequency Rank

Positioned at #22,385, this word is part of extensive vocabulary. It's relatively rare in general usage but may be important in specific fields or formal writing.