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Discountenance

//dɪsˈkaʊntənəns// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Cold treatment; disapprobation. uncountable

    "Highly tenacious of preserving over the mind of Sir Aubrey an undisputed sway, Lady De Brooke had seen with great reluctance the ascendency his grand-daughters were acquiring, which she artfully hoped to repress by throwing discountenance on the visits of their father,[…]"

Verb
  1. 1
    To have an unfavorable opinion of; to deprecate or disapprove of. transitive

    "A town meeting was convened to discountenance riot."

  2. 2
    show disapproval by discouraging wordnet
  3. 3
    To abash, embarrass or disconcert. transitive

    "How would one look from his Majeſtick brow, / Seated as on the top of Vertues hill, / Diſcount'nance her deſpiſ'd, and put to rout / All her array, her female pride deject, / Or turn to reverent awe? […]"

  4. 4
    look with disfavor on wordnet
  5. 5
    To refuse countenance or support to; to discourage. transitive

    "These were rejected by Parliament, which discountenanced the amalgamation of competing lines but gave broad approval in theory to end-on amalgamations."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle French descontenancer (compare French décontenancer).

Etymology 2

From Middle French descontenancer (compare French décontenancer).

See also for "discountenance"

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