Approve and Discourage

Opposite meaning words

Approve verb - To give official acceptance of as satisfactory.

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Discourage is an antonym for approve in allow topic.

Nearby Words: approval, approbation, approving, approvingly, approvement

Discourage verb - To lessen the courage or confidence of.

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Approve is an antonym for discourage in topics: deter, dishearten.

idea	approve idea	discourage idea
use	approve use	discourage use

Cite this Source

Discourage and Approve. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 29, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/approve/discourage

Approve & Discourage. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/approve/discourage>.

Discourage or Approve. 2016. Accessed July 29, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/approve/discourage.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "approve" and "discourage" have occurred on timeline