demoralize

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/dɪˈmɒrəlaɪz/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/dɪˈmɔrəˌlaɪz, -ˈmɑr-/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(di môrə līz′, -mor-)


Inflections of 'demoralize' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
demoralizes
v 3rd person singular (US & UK)
demoralizing
v pres p (US & UK)
demoralized
v past (US & UK)
demoralized
v past p (US & UK)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•mor•al•ize /dɪˈmɔrəˌlaɪz, -ˈmɑr-/USA pronunciation   v. [ + obj], -ized, -iz•ing. 
  1. to deprive (someone) of spirit, courage, or discipline; destroy the morale of:The terrible defeat demoralized the army.
de•mor•al•i•za•tion /dɪˌmɔrələˈzeɪʃən, -ˌmɑr-/USA pronunciation  n. [uncountable]nationwide demoralization.
de•mor•al•ized, adj.: The demoralized army trudged home after the defeat.
de•mor•al•iz•ing, adj.: suffered a demoralizing defeat.See -mor-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•mor•al•ize  (di môrə līz′, -mor-),USA pronunciation v.t., -ized, -iz•ing. 
  1. to deprive (a person or persons) of spirit, courage, discipline, etc.;
    destroy the morale of:The continuous barrage demoralized the infantry.
  2. to throw (a person) into disorder or confusion;
    bewilder:We were so demoralized by that one wrong turn that we were lost for hours.
  3. to corrupt or undermine the morals of.
Also,[esp. Brit.,] de•moral•ise′. 
  • French démoraliser. See de-, moral, -ize
  • 1785–95
de•mor′al•i•zation, n. 
de•moral•iz′er, n. 
de•moral•iz′ing•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
demoralize, demoralise / dɪˈmɒrəˌlaɪz/ (transitive)
  1. to undermine the morale of; dishearten: he was demoralized by his defeat
  2. to debase morally; corrupt
  3. to throw into confusion
deˌmoraliˈzation, deˌmoraliˈsation
'demoralize' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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