discourage

Verb

• try to prevent; show opposition to
  • "We should discourage this practice among our youth"
• deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged
• admonish or counsel in terms of someone's behavior
• To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject.
• To persuade somebody not to do (something).

Noun

• Lack of courage

Examples

• Don't be discouraged by the amount of work left to do: you'll finish it in good time.

Synonyms

admonish, deter, monish, warn, cowardliness, daunt, dissuade

Antonyms

encourage