discontent

[ dis-kuhn-tent ]

adjective

1. not content; dissatisfied; discontented.

noun

1. Also discontentment. lack of contentment; dissatisfaction.

   Synonyms: uneasiness, restlessness, inquietude, displeasure

2. a restless desire or craving for something one does not have.
3. a malcontent.

verb (used with object)

1. to make discontented; dissatisfy; displease.

discontent

/ ˌdɪskənˈtɛnt /

noun

1. Also calleddiscontentment lack of contentment, as with one's condition or lot in life
2. a discontented person

adjective

1. dissatisfied

verb

1. tr to make dissatisfied

Derived Forms

• ˌdisconˈtentedly, adverb
• ˌdisconˈtented, adjective
• ˌdisconˈtentedness, noun

Other Words From

• pre·dis·con·tent noun
• pre·dis·con·tent·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of discontent¹

First recorded in 1485–95; dis- ¹ + content ²

Synonym Study

See dissatisfaction.

Example Sentences

The United States, like many countries around the world, seems to have entered a period of broad and deep discontent.

From Freakonomics

Foreign actors, from Russia to China, can take advantage of social unrest, the digital age and human psychology to stir discontent — and potentially affect elections.

From Ozy

The US has been brought to this point by a long-term legitimacy crisis of the American elite, accompanied by rising levels of mass discontent and coercive state responses.

From No Straight News

Now that he’s facing re-election, his Democratic opponents are trying to direct the discontent in their direction, with some of them calling to fundamentally remake the American economy.

From Freakonomics

Much of this discontent is related to economic issues — some of them specific, like wage stagnation and the spike in healthcare and college costs.

From Freakonomics

Almost from the beginning, there have been rumblings of discontent about Pope Francis.

From The Daily Beast

Discontent with life led to complete recklessness on the battlefield.

From The Daily Beast

But in the Palestinian camps, there has been public discontent, too.

From The Daily Beast

His new documentary, A Cinema of Discontent, is about film censorship in Iran.

From The Daily Beast

Hamas exploits the resulting Arab discontent to fan the flames of violence and war.

From The Daily Beast

The seed of discontent was again germinating under the duplicity of the Spanish lay and clerical authorities.

From Project Gutenberg

The new forces controlled by mankind have been powerless as yet to remove want and destitution, hard work and social discontent.

From Project Gutenberg

Discontent was so widespread that the new general at once ordered all troops, save some three thousand, to leave the capital.

From Project Gutenberg

The vision itself is an outcome of that divine discontent which raises man above his environment.

From Project Gutenberg

Lannes secretly informed Bonaparte of the plans of those who led the discontent, and, in the words of Murat, "sold the cocoanut."

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• displeasure
• regret
• restlessness
• uneasiness
• unhappiness