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dispirit

[ dih-spir-it ]

/ dɪˈspɪr ɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR dispirit ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to deprive of spirit, hope, enthusiasm, etc.; depress; discourage; dishearten.

Origin of dispirit

First recorded in 1635–45; di-² + spirit

Words nearby dispirit

dispersive medium, dispersive power, dispersoid, disphenoid, dispireme, dispirit, dispirited, dispiriting, dispiteous, displace, displaced

Example sentences from the Web for dispiriting

Perhaps even the indefatigable John Kerry might be discouraged from more futile and dispiriting peace talks.

Here’s What the U.S. Has to Do to Deal With the Mad Middle East |Leslie H. Gelb |July 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
What do you find most dispiriting about the current talk news climate?

John Oliver on ‘Last Week Tonight,’ Turning Down CBS, and ‘Nauseating’ American Politics |Marlow Stern |May 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It makes for disturbing and dispiriting but essential and educational reading.

The Book America Needs to Read Right Now |John Kael Weston |January 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
This is as outrageous as it is dispiriting (and predictable).

Four Principles for a Libertarian National Security State |Nick Gillespie |September 14, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

What a spectacular unraveling of a revolution, what a dispiriting death of a dream.

Why Egypt Has Coups … and We Don’t |Tunku Varadarajan |August 22, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
How cold, how dull, how dispiriting is it at times to see the whole congregation clear out the moment the preaching is over!

The Assembly of God |C. (Charles) H. (Henry) Mackintosh
I was loth to have her think that my grief was owing to the weak state I saw her in, for fear of dispiriting her.

Clarissa, Or The History Of A Young Lady, Volume 8 |Samuel Richardson
The sunlight had lost its glory, the flowers had become pale and odorless, the songs of the birds dull and dispiriting.

The Redemption of David Corson |Charles Frederic Goss
Indeed, the whole tenor of the speech was generally regarded as unsatisfactory and dispiriting.

South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. IV (of 6) |Louis Creswicke
The trail wound upward into country that grew more and more gloomy and dispiriting.

The Bungalow Boys North of Fifty-Three |Dexter J. Forrester

British Dictionary definitions for dispiriting (1 of 2)

dispiriting

/ (dɪˈspɪrɪtɪŋ) /

adjective

tending to lower the spirit or enthusiasm; depressing; discouraging

Derived forms of dispiriting

dispiritingly, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for dispiriting (2 of 2)

dispirit

/ (dɪˈspɪrɪt) /

verb

(tr) to lower the spirit or enthusiasm of; make downhearted or depressed; discourage