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demoralized

demoralized

2 5.2
Feeling sad and lacking confidence to keep trying
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈmɔːrəlaɪzd/
translation icon : desmoralizado
  • I was so demoralized after that campaign that I didn't really get involved at all in 2008.
  • pretty demoralized
  • too demoralized
  • very demoralized

They were dehumanized, they were demoralized.

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Examples

  • And yet he feels demoralized, like it makes him not even want to stay at the job.

  • Surviving French forces, exhausted, sick and demoralised, retreated to the river Rhine and prepared to defend France from invasion.

  • Talk about, well, God, you know, it's very difficult to understand how demoralized people are.

  • No doubt about it, I was feeling just a little demoralized.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The staff there were incredible, but everyone was demoralized and depressed.

  • A lot of Human Rights Watch's staff in the US and around the world are probably demoralized by the election.

  • They are already demoralized and despondent.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • None used a complaining tone or whined, but some were clearly frustrated, angry, and demoralized.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The war continued, and the Eritrean movement recorded impressive gains against a demoralized and increasingly ineffective Ethiopian army.

    Academic text (1991)
  • After losing the championship game, the team felt completely demoralized and unsure of their future.

Synonyms

depressed
vsdemoralized
441 3.5

Feeling very sad and without hope

is about loss of confidence and spirit rather than clinical despair
down
vsdemoralized
  • Informal
24 6.7

Feeling sad or unhappy

is a stronger, more specific loss of confidence and hope
despondent
vsdemoralized
18 7.7

Feeling very sad and without hope about the future

is similarly hopeless but often linked to morale collapse
downbeat
vsdemoralized
8 4.4

Feeling sad and not very hopeful

is more about personal loss of confidence than general mood
discouraged
vsdemoralized
7 3.4

Feeling less confident and hopeful because of problems

is a deeper loss of confidence and hope than that
disheartened
vsdemoralized
5 4.2

Feeling less hopeful and confident after a disappointment

is a more general loss of spirit beyond a single event
dejected
vsdemoralized
5 4.5

Feeling very sad and not hopeful

is more about lost confidence and hope than general sadness
dispirited
vsdemoralized
5 5.4

Feeling sad and without hope

expresses a stronger loss of confidence and hope than that
downcast
vsdemoralized
3 4.7

Feeling sad and without much hope

is more active loss of confidence and spirit than that
disconsolate
vsdemoralized
  • Literature
2 8.2

Very sad and not able to be comforted

is less absolute, focusing on lost confidence and hope instead
downhearted
vsdemoralized
1 4.1

Feeling sad and without much hope

is slightly stronger in implying loss of confidence and spirit
deflated
vsdemoralized
4.6

Feeling less confident and hopeful after a disappointment

is a more sustained loss of confidence and hope
in low spirits
vsdemoralized
3.9

Feeling sad and without energy

focuses more on lost confidence and hope rather than tired sadness

Antonyms

More confident and willing to try after getting support

2.5

Wanting to work hard to reach a goal

How Discouraged

hopeless
133 2.7
despondent
18 7.7
demoralized
2 5.2
disheartened
5 4.2
discouraged
7 3.4
disappointed
527 1.0

Surface Forms

demoralized positive
demoralizing comparative
demoralizing superlative

Morphology

demoralized = demoralize (opaque) = de + moral + ize + ed

The adjective is a straightforward participial formation from the verb 'demoralize'.

Etymology

The word demoralized comes from the prefix de- meaning 'take away' and the word moral, seen in morale, meaning 'spirit' or 'courage'. That's why being demoralized means you have lost confidence, hope, or spirit.