DISCOUNTENANCE Synonyms: 122 Similar and Opposite Words

discountenance 1 of 2

noun

Definition of discountenance

as in disapproval

refusal to accept as right or desirable made known his long-standing discountenance of any form of religious belief

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

discountenance

2 of 2

verb

di-ˈskau̇n-tə-nən(t)s

as in to dislike

to hold an unfavorable opinion of a social philosopher who discountenanced all programs for helping the needy, claiming that society should encourage survival of the fittest

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to embarrass

to throw into a state of self-conscious distress the political party was discountenanced by the actions of a few of its overly zealous members

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for discountenance

Noun

But Republicans privately worry that growing disapproval of his administration is a liability.

— Michelle S. Price, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
The latest Fox News survey released Wednesday showed disapproval of the job Trump is doing has reached 77% on inflation, 70% on the economy, 69% on tariffs and 64% on foreign policy.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of disapproval

Verb

There are certainly people at the company who really dislike me.

— Nilay Patel, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026
Lorne Michaels took a liking to him (while disliking his predecessor) and took him under his wing, valuing his creative sense by asking for his feedback on writer packages and taking him to auditions.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of dislike

Verb

Chicago embarrassed Philadelphia, while the Eagles squandered a late lead against the Rams before suffering an improbable loss to the Jaguars in London.

— OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
The Longhorns’ offense scored 17 points against a Florida defense that Missouri and South Carolina embarrassed.

— Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of embarrass

Verb

Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, criticized the state's election officials for not cooperating with the department's demands.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
But others criticized the tactics used and family separations.

— Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of criticize

Verb

Quebec voters have twice rejected independence, most recently by a razor-thin margin in a 1995 referendum.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
For countries that rejected the open international order, as the axis countries do today, the benefits were far fewer and the penalties considerable.

— Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of reject

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

discounted

discountenance

discountenanced

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Discountenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discountenance. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of discountenance

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes