Depress and Encourage

Depress

Depress verb - To make sad.
Usage example: the thought of once again failing the bar exam depressed me

Encourage is an antonym for depress in topics: deject, devalue, push down.

Encourage

Encourage verb - To fill with courage or strength of purpose.
Usage example: a pep talk that encouraged the team to get out there and win

Depress is an antonym for encourage in topics: inspire, help, stimulate spiritually.

Nearby Words: encouragement, encouraging

Common collocations

audience depress audience encourage audience
morale depress morale encourage morale
anyone depress anyone encourage anyone
everyone depress everyone encourage everyone
Other words: humans.
Cite this Source
Encourage and Depress. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/depress/encourage
Depress & Encourage. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/depress/encourage>.
Encourage or Depress. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/depress/encourage.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "depress" and "encourage" have occurred on timeline