DISCONTENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does discontent mean? 

• DISCONTENT (noun)
  The noun DISCONTENT has 1 sense:

1. a longing for something better than the present situation

  Familiarity information: DISCONTENT used as a noun is very rare.

• DISCONTENT (adjective)
  The adjective DISCONTENT has 1 sense:

1. showing or experiencing dissatisfaction or restless longing

  Familiarity information: DISCONTENT used as an adjective is very rare.

• DISCONTENT (verb)
  The verb DISCONTENT has 1 sense:

1. make dissatisfied

  Familiarity information: DISCONTENT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISCONTENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A longing for something better than the present situation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

discontent; discontentedness; discontentment

Hypernyms ("discontent" is a kind of...):

hungriness; longing; yearning (prolonged unfulfilled desire or need)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "discontent"):

disgruntlement (a feeling of sulky discontent)

dysphoria (abnormal depression and discontent)

dissatisfaction (the feeling of being displeased and discontent)

Derivation:

discontent (make dissatisfied)

discontent (showing or experiencing dissatisfaction or restless longing)

• DISCONTENT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Showing or experiencing dissatisfaction or restless longing

Synonyms:

discontent; discontented

Context example:

was discontented with his position

Similar:

disaffected; ill-affected; malcontent; rebellious (discontented as toward authority)

disgruntled; dissatisfied (in a state of sulky dissatisfaction)

restless; ungratified; unsatisfied (worried and uneasy)

Also:

unhappy (experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent)

displeased (not pleased; experiencing or manifesting displeasure)

Derivation:

discontent (a longing for something better than the present situation)

• DISCONTENT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they discontent    ... he / she / it discontents   
Past simple: discontented   
Past participle: discontented   
-ing form: discontenting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make dissatisfied

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "discontent" is one way to...):

dissatisfy (fail to satisfy)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to discontent Sue

Antonym:

content (make content)

Derivation:

discontent; discontentment (a longing for something better than the present situation)

 Context examples 

When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

She tried not to be envious or discontented, but it was very natural that the young girl should long for pretty things, gay friends, accomplishments, and a happy life.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Challenger had from the moment of joining us issued directions to the whole party, much to the evident discontent of Summerlee.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Many, no doubt; and I shall be called discontented.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She vanished like a discontented fairy; or like one of those supernatural beings, whom it was popularly supposed I was entitled to see; and never came back any more.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries of modern philosophers, I always came from my studies discontented and unsatisfied.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The feeling of being displeased and discontent.

(Dissatisfaction, NCI Thesaurus)

When I entered his room he was sitting on a stool in the centre, with his elbows on his knees, and his face was the picture of sullen discontent.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Such were her thoughts, but she kept them to herself, and put on her bonnet in patient discontent.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

So far from being all satisfied and all enjoying, she found everybody requiring something they had not, and giving occasion of discontent to the others.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)