Talk:discourage

Although I don't like reverting changes to what I have posted, I have been encouraged to change items; they can always be changed back

I don't see that meanings 2 and 3 (below) are distinct; you could say that advising against something is one way of discouraging, but so is putting up a fence, installing an alarm, etc.


 * 1) (transitive) to advise against
 * While it is not illegal, we discourage bungee-jumping.
 * 1) (transitive) to persuade somebody not to do something
 * I finally managed to discourage him from sky-diving.
 * I finally managed to discourage him from sky-diving.

If anyone disagrees, please change.

Pol098 18:18, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

The example I gave has been criticised, quite rightly, as not illustrating the meaning of the word. I have replaced it with, I think, a better one. If anyone prefers one of the following, please help yourselves.

Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Abraham Lincoln

You can measure a man by the opposition it takes to discourage him. Robert C. Savage

Most of our pocket wisdom is conceived for the use of mediocre people, to discourage them from ambitious attempts, and generally console them in their mediocrity. Robert Louis Stevenson

Pol098 23:25, 10 August 2005 (UTC)
 * I think the I think "advice against" seems to be slightly different than "persuade somebody not to do something." Dictionary.com defines it similarly as "to express or make clear disapproval of; frown upon." I think adding this sense would be beneficial. --Bluesoju (talk) 23:18, 29 November 2015 (UTC)