# discourage vs discourse

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### discourage
*verb · IPA /dɪsˈkʌɹɪd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #13,498*
To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject.

### discourse
*noun · IPA /ˈdɪs.kɔːs/ · frequency rank #9,168*
Verbal exchange, conversation.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/discourage-vs-discourse