v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Discouraged p. pr. & vb. n. Discouraging ] [ Pref. dis- + courage: cf. OF. descoragier, F. décourager: pref. des- (L. dis-) + corage, F. courage. See Courage. ] 1. To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject; -- the opposite of encourage; as, he was discouraged in his undertaking; he need not be discouraged from a like attempt. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Col. iii. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To dishearten one with respect to; to discountenance; to seek to check by disfavoring; to deter one from; as, they discouraged his efforts.

Syn. -- To dishearten; dispirit; depress; deject; dissuade; disfavor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Lack of courage; cowardliness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being discouraged; easily disheartened. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. descouragement, F. découragement. ] 1. The act of discouraging, or the state of being discouraged; depression or weakening of confidence; dejection. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which discourages; that which deters, or tends to deter, from an undertaking, or from the prosecution of anything; a determent; as, the revolution was commenced under every possible discouragement. “Discouragements from vice.” Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who discourages. [ 1913 Webster ]

The promoter of truth and the discourager of error. Sir G. C. Lewis. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Causing or indicating discouragement. -- Dis*cour"a*ging*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

v. t. To discover. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That none might her discoure. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. discursus a running to and fro, discourse, fr. discurrere, discursum, to run to and fro, to discourse; dis- + currere to run: cf. F. discours. See Course. ] 1. The power of the mind to reason or infer by running, as it were, from one fact or reason to another, and deriving a conclusion; an exercise or act of this power; reasoning; range of reasoning faculty. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Difficult, strange, and harsh to the discourses of natural reason. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sure he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not
That capability and godlike reason
To fust in us unused. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Conversation; talk. [ 1913 Webster ]

In their discourses after supper. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Filling the head with variety of thoughts, and the mouth with copious discourse. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The art and manner of speaking and conversing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of excellent breeding, admirable discourse. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Consecutive speech, either written or unwritten, on a given line of thought; speech; treatise; dissertation; sermon, etc.; as, the preacher gave us a long discourse on duty. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Dealing; transaction. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Good Captain Bessus, tell us the discourse
Betwixt Tigranes and our king, and how
We got the victory. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Discoursed p. pr. & vb. n. Discoursing. ] 1. To exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason. [ Obs. ] “Have sense or can discourse.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To express one's self in oral discourse; to expose one's views; to talk in a continuous or formal manner; to hold forth; to speak; to converse. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To relate something; to tell. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To treat of something in writing and formally. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To treat of; to expose or set forth in language. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The life of William Tyndale . . . is sufficiently and at large discoursed in the book. Foxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To utter or give forth; to speak. [ 1913 Webster ]

It will discourse most eloquent music. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To talk to; to confer with. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I have spoken to my brother, who is the patron, to discourse the minister about it. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]