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Glite Dictionary
to put someone off

to put someone off

20 4.3
Make someone lose interest in doing something
  • phrasal verb
  • /pʊt ˈsʌmˌwʌn ɔf/
translation icon : desanimar
  • I hope you don't come across any more idiots who might put you off in the future!
  • put people off

Examples

Synonyms

to discourage
vsto put someone off
257 3.5

To try to stop something by making people less willing to do it

causes a drop in interest or stops action more broadly than confidence alone
to deter
vsto put someone off
94 5.6

Make someone less likely to do something by making them fear bad results

causes loss of interest or discourages without relying on fear of harm
to turn off
vsto put someone off
  • Informal
44 4.4

To make someone feel strong dislike

causes a milder loss of interest or reluctance rather than intense dislike
to squash enthusiasm
vsto put someone off
6.5

To stop someone from feeling excited

causes loss of interest or avoidance rather than direct suppression of excitement

Antonyms

to encourage
∞ 2.3

Give someone support and confidence so they try or keep doing something

to motivate
437 3.5

Make someone want to do something

How Discouraged

to deter
94 5.6
to repel
5 5.1
to put someone off
20 4.3

Surface Forms

put someone off infinitive
put someone off past
put someone off past participle
putting someone off present participle
puts someone off third person singular

Morphology

put + someone + off

The sense 'to discourage or make someone lose interest' is loosely connected to 'put' (to place into a state) and 'off' (away/removal), but this is a metaphorical extension rather than a directly compositional meaning. Phrasal verbs like 'put off' have multiple senses (e.g. postpone, repel) and vary across languages, so a B1 learner who only knows the parts would not reliably infer the discouraging sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb put someone off may come from the simple image of putting someone off something — for example a bad smell or a rude remark makes you step away from food or an idea. So it now means 'to make someone lose interest or to discourage them'.