Meanings
plural disincentives
- That which discourages a particular behaviour; a deterrent.
1 more example
CDC guidelines issued in July called for voluntary HIV testing of all health care workers, but also recommended that those who are found HIV positive go before a local board that could advise them not to perform a list of "exposure-prone" procedures. AIDS activists and health care workers decried the guidelines, arguing that they served as a disincentive for health workers to seek HIV testing. They also charged that the recommendations legitimized public fear about HIV transmission during surgical or dental procedures.
1991 December 8, Jacob Smith Yang, “'Invasive Procedures' Dropped?”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 21, page 1
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
- Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
- Proto-Indo-European*d(w)is-
- Proto-Italic*dis-
- Latindis-
- Old Frenchdes-
- Latindis-
- Middle Englishdis-
- Englishdis-
- Englishincentive
- Englishdisincentive
Translations
Finnish hillitsevä tekijä, pidäke
- hillitsevä tekijäsomething that discourages
- pidäkesomething that discourages
Greek αντικίνητρο
- αντικίνητρο (antikínitro)something that discourages
Polish antybodziec
- antybodziecsomething that discourages
Portuguese desincentivo
- desincentivosomething that discourages
Spanish desincentivo
- desincentivosomething that discourages
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with disincentive
All rhymes →Cite this entry
disincentive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disincentive
“disincentive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disincentive. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disincentive,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disincentive.
Source: disincentive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.