dispiriting

British  

/ dɪˈspɪrɪtɪŋ /

adjective

1. tending to lower the spirit or enthusiasm; depressing; discouraging

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Other Word Forms

• dispiritingly adverb

Explanation

Things that discourage you or make you feel hopeless are dispiriting. It can be dispiriting when the candidate you've supported and campaigned for loses the election. Anything that makes you lose your sense of enthusiasm is dispiriting. Watching your favorite basketball team be defeated over and over again is dispiriting. If you're counting on friends to plan something fun for your birthday and they completely forget about it, that's dispiriting too. This adjective stems from the verb dispirit, and its parts, dis, "lack of," and spirit, "life or inspiration."

Example Sentences

Then came the dispiriting loss to the Warriors and the 40-year-old Paul’s opportunity to get in the last meme, even though it wasn’t exactly original.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

Thomas Frank faced fresh calls for his dismissal from angry Tottenham fans after a dispiriting 2-2 draw at Premier League strugglers Burnley on Saturday as Bournemouth ended Liverpool's long unbeaten run.

From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026

And they can be deeply dispiriting when they don’t work.

From Slate • Dec. 19, 2025

Few sights could be more dispiriting to the rest of English soccer than Liverpool cruising to a championship last spring and immediately adding half a billion dollars’ worth of talent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

The hardest part was coming to terms with the constant dispiriting discovery that there is always more hill.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• crushing
• discouraging
• disheartening
• dismal