Antonyms — Choose the option that is most nearly opposite in meaning to ‘‘ENCOURAGE’’ (vocabulary and word-meaning for competitive English; identify the best antonym that conveys discouragement or the act of dissuasion).

Given data

• Target word: ENCOURAGE
• Options: Dampen; Disapprove; Discourage; Warn

Concept/Approach
‘‘Encourage’’ means to give support, confidence, or hope; to spur on or stimulate a person to act.The best antonym must express the sense of deterring, dissuading, or taking away confidence.

Step-by-step reasoning
Compare senses: Encourage (to urge on) ↔ Discourage (to deter or dissuade).‘‘Dampen’’ can mean reduce enthusiasm, but it is weaker and context-bound; it is not a strict lexical opposite.‘‘Disapprove’’ expresses a negative judgment, not necessarily active prevention of action.‘‘Warn’’ is to caution; it can coexist with encouragement or discouragement depending on context.

Verification/Alternative
Common antonym pairs listed in dictionaries: encourage ↔ discourage.

Common pitfalls
Choosing ‘‘Dampen’’ due to partial overlap with reducing enthusiasm; the accurate opposite of ‘‘encourage’’ is ‘‘discourage’’ because it directly reverses the act of urging.

Final Answer
The antonym of ‘‘ENCOURAGE’’ is Discourage.