The loss of courage, confidence, and hope; the act or process of causing someone to lose faith or will, especially in a group or organization.
From American English demoralise/demoralize + -ation (noun suffix). De- (down) + morale (spirits) + -ize/-ise (verb suffix) + -ation (creates abstract noun). The American spelling uses -ize rather than British -ise.
Demoralization is a military strategist's nightmare—it's why bombing civilian populations was thought to win wars (though it usually didn't). The theory was that broken spirits would break armies, but humans proved more resilient than expected.
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