Definition of "demoralize"

demoralize

/dɪˈmɒɹəlaɪz/

verb
third-person singular simple present demoralizes, present participle demoralizing, simple past and past participle demoralized
1. To destroy the morale of; to dishearten.
2. (dated) To erode the moral adherence of; to corrupt.
  Quotations
  [I]f you convert a man brought up in another creed, you inevitably demoralize him.
  1912, George Bernard Shaw, “Jesus not a Proselytist”, in Androcles and the Lion, preface
  The election of a man like Mr. Blaine would be such an encouragement to the base and rapacious impulses apt to govern the conduct of politicians, it would so demoralize the public mind and open the floodgates of corruption so wide, that it is no exaggeration to say the success of our free institutions is at stake.
  1913, Carl Schurz, Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, volume IV, To Henry C. Bowen, August 6th, 1884, page 272