Disincentive

//ˌdɪsɪnˈsɛntɪv// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    That which discourages a particular behaviour; a deterrent.

    "CDC guidelines issued in July called for voluntary HIV testing of all health care workers, but also recommended that those who are found HIV positive go before a local board that could advise them not to perform a list of "exposure-prone" procedures. AIDS activists and health care workers decried the guidelines, arguing that they served as a disincentive for health workers to seek HIV testing. They also charged that the recommendations legitimized public fear about HIV transmission during surgical or dental procedures."

  2. 2
    a negative motivational influence wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
deterrencedeterrentobstacle

Example

More examples

"The cold winter wind was definitely a disincentive to cycling."

Etymology

From dis- + incentive.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.