discountenance

  • 1Discountenance — Dis*coun te*nance, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Discountenanced}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Discountenancing}.] [Pref. dis + countenance: cf. OF. descontenancer, F. d[ e]contenancer.] 1. To ruffle or discompose the countenance of; to put of countenance; to put to …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Discountenance — Dis*coun te*nance, n. Unfavorable aspect; unfriendly regard; cold treatment; disapprobation; whatever tends to check or discourage. [1913 Webster] He thought a little discountenance on those persons would suppress that spirit. Clarendon. [1913… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3discountenance — [v1] reject, oppose condemn, count me out*, deprecate, disapprove, discommend, discourage, disesteem, disfavor, dispute, frown on*, hold no brief for*, not go for*, not stand for*, object to, put down, resist, take a dim view of*, take exception… …

    New thesaurus

  • 4discountenance — index bad repute, blame, censor, condemn (ban), condemn (blame), condemnation (blame) …

    Law dictionary

  • 5discountenance — put to shame, 1570s, from M.Fr. descontenancer (16c.) to abash, from des (see DIS (Cf. dis )) + contenancer (see COUNTENANCE (Cf. countenance)) …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 6discountenance — [dis kount′ n əns] vt. discountenanced, discountenancing [ DIS + COUNTENANCE] 1. to make ashamed or embarrassed; disconcert 2. to refuse approval or support to; discourage …

    English World dictionary

  • 7discountenance — discountenancer, n. /dis kown tn euhns/, v., discountenanced, discountenancing, n. v.t. 1. to disconcert, embarrass, or abash: With his composure, he survived every attempt to discountenance him. 2. to show disapproval of: The teachers… …

    Universalium

  • 8discountenance — I. transitive verb Date: 1580 1. abash, disconcert 2. to look with disfavor on ; discourage by evidence of disapproval < discountenanced all bellicose statements > II. noun Date: 1580 disapprobation, disfavor …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 9discountenance — verb a) To have an unfavorable opinion of; to deprecate or disapprove b) To abash, embarrass or disconcert …

    Wiktionary

  • 10discountenance — Synonyms and related words: abash, abashment, baffle, balk, be against, be agin, blast, brave, chagrin, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, confound, confront, confuse, confusion, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross,&#8230; …

    Moby Thesaurus