discountenance

/dɪsˈkaʊntənəns/

discountenance verb: to have an unfavorable opinion of; to deprecate or disapprove of.

Verb

discountenance (third-person singular simple present discountenances, present participle discountenancing, simple past and past participle discountenanced)

(transitive) To have an unfavorable opinion of; to deprecate or disapprove of.
- A town meeting was convened to discountenance riot.1855, George Bancroft, chapter XXX, in History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume V, London: Routledge, page 74
- So far from friendship being an institution whose value is recognised and understood, it is at best scantily acknowledged, and is often actually discountenanced and misunderstood.1908, Edward Carpenter, chapter 4, in The Intermediate Sex, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1921, page 90
(transitive) To abash, embarrass or disconcert.
- How would one look from his Majeſtick brow, / Seated as on the top of Vertues hill, / Diſcount'nance her deſpiſ'd, and put to rout / All her array, her female pride deject, / Or turn to reverent awe? […]1671, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 39, lines 216–220
- The hermit was somewhat discountenanced by this observation.1820, Walter Scott, chapter 16, in Ivanhoe
(transitive) To refuse countenance or support to; to discourage.
- These were rejected by Parliament, which discountenanced the amalgamation of competing lines but gave broad approval in theory to end-on amalgamations.1948 January and February, “British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 1

discountenance (uncountable)

Cold treatment; disapprobation.
- Highly tenacious of preserving over the mind of Sir Aubrey an undisputed sway, Lady De Brooke had seen with great reluctance the ascendency his grand-daughters were acquiring, which she artfully hoped to repress by throwing discountenance on the visits of their father,[…]1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter VII, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 92

புறக்கணித்தல்

unsettle, disconcert, discomfit: ക്ഷോഭിപ്പിക്കുക, വല്ലായ്മ വരുത്തുക, അസ്വസ്ഥമാക്കുക, പരുങ്ങലുളവാക്കുക, സംഭ്രമിപ്പിക്കുക, അമ്പരപ്പിക്കുക
frown on, disapprove of, take a dim view of: അംഗീകരിക്കാൻ വിസമ്മതിക്കുക, പ്രതികൂലിക്കുക, വിസമ്മതിക്കുക, യോജിക്കാതിരിക്കുക, നെറ്റിചുളിക്കുക, അവജ്ഞയോടെ നോക്കിക്കാണുക

ನಾಚಿಸು, ಸಿಗ್ಗಾಗಿಸು

Mr Macgregor stiffened at the word 'nigger', which is discountenanced in India.1934, George Orwell, Burmese Days:
'Mrs' was a word somewhat discountenanced by the Party—you were supposed to call everyone 'comrade'—but with some women one used it instinctively.1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part One, Chapter 2:

third-person singular present	discountenances
present participle	discountenancing
past participle	discountenanced
past	discountenanced

From Middle French descontenancer (compare French décontenancer).

What does discountenance mean?: Discountenance means to have an unfavorable opinion of; to deprecate or disapprove of.
What is discountenance in Tamil?: Discountenance in Tamil is புறக்கணித்தல். See Discountenance meaning in Tamil.
How do you use discountenance in a sentence?: Mr Macgregor stiffened at the word 'nigger', which is discountenanced in India.
What part of speech is discountenance?: Discountenance can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce discountenance?: Discountenance is pronounced /dɪsˈkaʊntənəns/ (UK).
What is the past tense of discountenance?: The past tense of discountenance is discountenanced.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-discountenance.wav.

Cite this entry: “discountenance.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/discountenance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.