disheartened 1 of 2

adjective

as in discouraged

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disheartened

2 of 2

verb

past tense of dishearten
as in frustrated
to lessen the courage or confidence of we were disheartened by the news that our grandmother was seriously ill

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of disheartened
Adjective
And whose heart didn’t swell with pride when the disheartened Malinin immediately pulled himself together to congratulate Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, who skated away with the top honors? — Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026
Verb
Parents said they were disheartened and upset about the city’s actions because of the effects on the children. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026 And educators are disheartened by the cognitive offloading caused by the chatbots, as students are increasingly turning to AI chatbots to answer questions and do their homework instead of thinking through assignments. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 23 Sep. 2026 Local sellers, rather than disheartened, are already navigating the current challenges and discovering new opportunities in the process. — Ed Meza, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026 But their responses echoed those of Anita, and Kiju wandered home disheartened. — Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026 John Andrew Segebarth, a 21-year-old college student and Eagle Scout, has been disheartened by the agreement. — Jamie Stengle, Fortune, 31 July 2026 Many of MacLeod’s fans were enraged and disheartened about his AI use online. — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026 Amy Lawrence Were Iraq’s fans disheartened? — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 26 June 2026 Were the older folks of your time disheartened by your generation’s lack of interest with their movies? — Raj Tawney, IndieWire, 12 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disheartened
  1. discouraged
  2. frustrated
  3. disappointed
  4. dispirited
  5. dejected
  6. crestfallen
  7. depressed
  8. unhappy
Adjective
  • That’s despite uncertainty about the economy and recent surveys showing Americans have become more discouraged about their finances.
    — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The hotel is very grown up, and therefore not exactly relaxing with very young kids (or, at least, not with my kid)—although children are not discouraged.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of discouraged
Verb
  • Now, however, a number of fans are frustrated with how the team has gone about honoring the terms.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In the comments section, one resident was frustrated but circumspect.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Adjective
  • In the Vatican, some pilgrims were worried, hopeful and a little disappointed.
    — Claudio Lavanga, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026
  • There were plenty of disappointed and angry members of Gator Nation on Saturday after Florida's surprising loss to South Carolina in Gainesville, but none may have been more distraught than a young member of Jon Sumrall's own household.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of disappointed
Adjective
  • Other than dispirited Red Sox fans still smarting over the ’75 World Series, nobody really hated those Reds.
    — Steve Buckley, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
  • On the Republican side in the Senate race, former Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy spent the day knocking on doors in his hometown of Springfield alongside his 10-year-old grandson Charles, urging dispirited conservative voters to turn out Tuesday.
    — Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Definition of dispirited
Adjective
  • In Brand New Day, Peter resumes his duties as a friendly neighborhood superhero in New York City, but also remains dejected that MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are moving on with their lives without any memory of his love and friendship.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • The sea of yellow applauding the efforts of the dejected Brazilian players who milled about, seemingly unwilling to accept that a match that took so long to really get going was over so quickly.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of dejected
Adjective
  • As the home team took their victory lap and residents rushed onto the pitch to celebrate their team, Tong, the dentist from Baoding, looked crestfallen, but was already thinking to the next season.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • Fans hoping the Bears would move to Arlington Heights were crestfallen Monday after state lawmakers failed to act.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 1 June 2026
Definition of crestfallen
Adjective
  • Celebrated as masterpieces today, at the time they were regarded as the unpolished works of a depressed, crazy man and commercially worthless.
    — Joan Martelli, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
  • In the event of a severe winter or import bottlenecks, depressed storage levels not only narrow Europe's capacity to absorb supply shocks but also risk driving natural gas prices higher.
    — , CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of depressed
Adjective
  • Dudus was apparently unhappy about a recent NBC News article that exposed Combs’ cushy life behind bars.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Tim Boyd San Juan Capistrano I’m sure there are Dodgers fans unhappy about losing to the Brewers.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of unhappy

Browse Nearby Words

dishearten
disheartened
disheartening
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Cite this Entry

“Disheartened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disheartened. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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