discourage from

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "discourage from" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when you want to advise someone against doing something or to talk about a feeling of discouragement. Example: The steep price tag of the car will discourage many people from buying it.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

12 human-written examples

As Thom points out, a fifth of the population identifies itself as disabled – and that, she argues, is a lot of people to block or discourage from coming to the theatre.

The Guardian

Parr and Meadows's detached, formalist approach is often undercut by the smiling faces of the subjects, a reflexive response to the camera that Parr would discourage from this moment on.

The Guardian - Arts

Linux is perfect, on the other hand, for call centres, cash tellers, customer-support departments and other types of work that require employees to use only the same one or two computer functions (and whom their employers might actually want to discourage from goofing off with other applications while on the job).

The Economist

2. Surround yourself with people who inspire you rather than those who discourage from chasing your dreams.

Forbes

Although our results discourage from using the popular extrapolations, one may combine the more accurate adjusted estimate of life expectancy e a with the extrapolation model by constraining the parameters of the latter to fit the life expectancy estimate (Ediev 2017).

Genus

They discourage from optimizing the choice of the classification algorithm based on the obtained results.

BMC Medical Research Methodology

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

48 human-written examples

Patients have been discouraged from attending.

The Guardian

They are discouraged from taking any leave.

The New York Times

Guests are discouraged from bringing children.

The New York Times - Travel

Women were strongly discouraged from entering.

The Guardian - Books

But small children are discouraged from attending.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "discourage from", ensure the object of the preposition is clear and logically connected to the action being discouraged. For example, "The high cost may discourage students from applying."

Common error

Avoid using "discourage to" instead of "discourage from". "Discourage from" is the correct idiomatic usage. For example, write "They discourage him from participating" not "They discourage him to participate."

Linguistic Context

The phrase "discourage from" functions as a verb phrase, typically followed by a noun or gerund, to express advising against or attempting to prevent someone from taking a specific action. As Ludwig AI confirms, this usage is correct.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

40%

Formal & Business

20%

Less common in

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "discourage from" is a grammatically correct and relatively common way to express advising against a particular action. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's suitable for various contexts, ranging from news reports to scientific articles. Remember to follow it with a noun or gerund, and consider related phrases like "deter from" or "dissuade from" for subtle variations in meaning. Keep in mind that it's idiomatic and should not be confused with "discourage to".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

deter from

This alternative has a more direct and forceful connotation of preventing action through fear or doubt.

dissuade from

This suggests persuading someone not to do something, often through reasoning or advice.

restrain from

Implies holding someone back or preventing them from acting on an impulse.

prevent from

Focuses on blocking or stopping an action from occurring.

inhibit from

Suggests hindering or slowing down an action, often due to internal factors like fear.

hinder from

This implies making it difficult for someone to do something.

stop from

A simpler, more direct way of saying prevent.

avoid from

Suggests staying away from something, either physically or metaphorically, to prevent a specific outcome.

lose heart from

Focuses on losing motivation or confidence to do something, rather than directly preventing the action.

preclude from

Means to make something impossible, a stronger form of preventing.

FAQs

How to use "discourage from" in a sentence?

You can use "discourage from" to advise against something or describe a feeling of being dissuaded. For example, "The rules discourage students from cheating."

What can I say instead of "discourage from"?

Alternatives to "discourage from" include "deter from", "dissuade from", or "prevent from" depending on the specific context.

What's the difference between "discourage from" and "prevent from"?

"Discourage from" implies advising against something, while "prevent from" suggests taking active measures to stop it. Discouragement is often psychological; prevention involves action.

Is it correct to say "discourage to" instead of "discourage from"?

No, "discourage from" is the correct idiomatic usage. "Discourage to" is grammatically incorrect. Always use "discourage from" followed by a gerund (verb + -ing) or a noun phrase.