Antonym of "recommend"

Question

What's the antonym of recommend? For example:

I recommend that item!

I tried to use unrecommend, but the spell-checker throws an error and it sounds stupid as well!

why not? I mean if "advice against" is acceptable, so should "not recommend". — picakhu, Nov 17 '11 at 16:29
Is there a scale to this? If so, can I say there's no opposite? — JeffSahol, Nov 17 '11 at 17:44
Not recommend is not really the opposite of recommend, merely the absence of it. I hate roller coasters, I would not recommend them to anyone. However that does not mean I would advise against them, to each there own. — Coding Flow, Nov 17 '11 at 22:45
Technically speaking I think the antonym of recommend is "no opinion on that". In common usage a recommendation can be positive or negative "The committee recommends not purchasing a chocolate teapot." — James Anderson, Nov 18 '11 at 08:59
@BenRobinson "That course of action is not recommended" - how neutral does that sound? — sq33G, Nov 18 '11 at 09:13
@sq33G Everything needs to be viewed in context: "That course of action is recommended", "That course of action is not recommended", "I advise against that course of action". Positive, neutral, negative. — Coding Flow, Nov 18 '11 at 09:57
@James Anderson: Your committee sounds pretty "on the ball". Could you perhaps get them to give some advice to the European Central Bank? — FumbleFingers, Nov 18 '11 at 14:27

score 62 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 17 '11 at 15:20

62

I would suggest “advise against.”

answered Nov 17 '11 at 15:20

breen

1,376

6

+1 I would suggest against not using "advise against" :) – Terry Li Nov 17 '11 at 21:45
3

@TerryLiYifeng Well, I would advise against not using 'advise against'. – Mateen Ulhaq Nov 18 '11 at 06:13
I would again devise your suggestion. – Ben Lee Mar 03 '12 at 02:04
1

Missed opportunity: I would recommend "advise against." – Ben Mar 18 '13 at 20:53

Lynn · Answer 2 · 2012-08-20T05:23:28.303

54

M-W dictionary lists no antonyms.

Dictionary.com lists: disapprove, discourage, dissuade but I don't think those really fit as direct antonyms.

Usually in my experience you'd say recommend against.

---Update to add--- As FumbleFingers mentioned in a comment, advise against is an equally valid alternative (and seemingly more popular in British English, as this NGram would suggest).

edited Aug 20 '12 at 05:23

answered Nov 17 '11 at 15:19

Lynn

17,801

16

I think "dissuade" is a pretty good choice. – LarsTech Nov 17 '11 at 16:34
8

Depending on the exact context, I think that discourage and dissuade could fit the bill. – Bjorn Nov 17 '11 at 18:16
3

@Lars and Bjorn: Depending on context, yes, but in a sentence: "I recommend the blue sweater" you could not directly substitute: "I discourage the blue sweater" or "I dissuade the blue sweater". That is why I believe it is not a true antonym, though it can be used to convey a similar idea. – Lynn Nov 17 '11 at 20:54
2

@Lynn To me, "I discourage the blue sweater" sounds perfectly cromulent. – fluffy Nov 17 '11 at 23:52
2

@fluffy: I would say, "I discourage you from wearing the blue sweater." which is subtly different. But to each his own! :) – Lynn Nov 18 '11 at 03:02
2

@fluffy: "I discourage the blue sweater" makes me think you hurt the sweater's feelings (or confidence). Does "I discourage the dog" mean recommending against buying the dog? A sentence like "I discourage Mary for the role of president" would be very weird to me if you used it to mean that you were dissuading others from electing Mary, rather than discouraging Mary herself. – ShreevatsaR Dec 02 '11 at 04:12
@ShreevatsaR Hm, good point. – fluffy Dec 02 '11 at 18:34
-1: It simply isn't true that people usually say recommend against. As this NGram shows, "he advises* against"* outnumbers "he recommends against" by about 5:1. – FumbleFingers Jun 06 '12 at 01:51
1

@FumbleFingers: You are correct, but I was not trying to compare those two specific phrases but merely to give a common phrase. But as this NGram shows - in American English "I advise against" and "I recommend against" are pretty darn close in overall usage (recently), and in my personal experience people usually say the latter. – Lynn Jun 06 '12 at 02:44

score 42 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 17 '11 at 15:27

42

Strictly speaking, discommend is the antonym, although it doesn't work in all contexts, and has become nearly obsolete.

I agree with @breen that advise against is the modern antonym phrase.

answered Nov 17 '11 at 15:27

ghoppe

14,419

6

Nice find! "Discommend" is an excellent word - it sounds as funny as "unpossible", but it's legitimate. And it's clearer to say "I discommend X" than "I don't recommend X", because the latter could mean I'm neutral on the matter. I say let's bring it back. :) – Nathan Long Nov 17 '11 at 16:31
2

@NathanLong good point re: the neutrality of "I don't recommend"… I agree, we should rescue this word from obscurity! Letting this word fade into obscurity is discommendable! – ghoppe Nov 17 '11 at 16:36
1

By the way, I found the Google Ngram of discommend, and linked sample uses fascinating! It appears to have dropped out of use in the last half of the 1800s. – ghoppe Nov 17 '11 at 23:20
2

I really want to use this word for the sole purpose of being able to prove certain people wrong when they try to tell me it's not a word :) – Brandon Moore Nov 18 '11 at 02:14
1

@Brandon Moore: On that basis, you could also use discountenance, disesteem, and disfavor. But don't blame me if you get accused of being a pretentious prat. – FumbleFingers Nov 18 '11 at 14:19
@ghoppe: I hate to disagree with such a highly-rated answer, but I think "strictly speaking", discommend is the antonym of commend - which in practice is not a very close synonym of recommend in the first place. – FumbleFingers Nov 18 '11 at 14:23
@FumbleFingers The OED shows that discommend has three meanings, the first with citations from 1509, is the opposite of commend; the second, cited as a usage since 1533, is the opposite of recommend; and the third, now obsolete, means to cause (anything) to be unfavourably viewed or received. – ghoppe Nov 18 '11 at 15:21
1

@FumbleFingers Also, do you really find disfavour to be pretentious or obscure? I think it's not uncommon, especially used in the phrase fall into disfavour. – ghoppe Nov 18 '11 at 16:01
@ghoppe: To fall into disfavour is still current, but I think using it as as a verb would be hopelessy archaic. IMHO the same applies to any use of "discommend" today, no matter what OED says about usage in centuries past. – FumbleFingers Nov 18 '11 at 16:33
@FumbleFingers Ha, don't worry I'm only going to do it with people I already know to be pretentious ;) – Brandon Moore Nov 18 '11 at 16:48
1

@Brandon Moore: In which case you won't be pretentious. You'll simply be poking fun at them, perhaps with the added frisson of knowing that they might not realise you're doing it ha ha. – FumbleFingers Nov 18 '11 at 16:51
@FumbleFingers Perhaps you missed my caution with the words "nearly obsolete" in my answer? My citation of the OED was used to refute your assertion, not cite current usage. – ghoppe Nov 18 '11 at 16:55
@ghoppe: You're quite right - this comment thread has gotten so long I was just looking at your comment in isolation. Your answer is also quite right in that discommend wouldn't really pass muster in many/any contexts today, when the best choice is invariably advise against. Maybe it's just me though, but I feel that today most usages of commend that aren't self-conciously "mock-archaic" have more the sense of praise, admire than recommend, endorse, vouch for. – FumbleFingers Nov 18 '11 at 17:52

score 24 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 17 '11 at 16:04

24

In technical computer manuals we use the word "deprecate".

answered Nov 17 '11 at 16:04

Wudang

2,766

3

great minds, and all that... – FumbleFingers Nov 17 '11 at 16:04
3

Fun at restaurants too; The Pad Thai here is deprecated. Recommend the Pad-See-Ew instead – Warren P Nov 17 '11 at 19:58
2

"deprecate" does also have the additional meaning of "this isn't guaranteed to work in the future, stop using it now and get used to the correct alternative". So it's more a subset of the answer... Still, +1 because I see it so often (x_x) – Izkata Nov 17 '11 at 21:03
2

@Izkata: I think it's fair to say that "additional meaning" is specifically the meaning applicable in the computer sense. But the broader meaning was always there long before the word was co-opted by geekspeak, and just because it's fallen into obscurity because of confusion with "depreciate" is no reason why it can't come back into more general use. After all, discommend is even rarer and more archaic, and that's currently the top-rated answer. – FumbleFingers Nov 17 '11 at 23:16
1

@FumbleFingers I would argue that the new meaning of "deprecate" would make it simply confusing if used outside of the context of the new meaning, while "discommend" doesn't have that problem, because it's fallen out of use instead of having evolved with the language. – Izkata Nov 18 '11 at 00:21
@NasBanov No, I am thinking of "deprecate" – Izkata Nov 18 '11 at 03:33
@Izkata: I would argue that Warren P's example is perfectly valid (and amusing), and carries no suggestion that said Pad Thai is likely to close down. Unless it's from lack of custom because everyone in the local area takes notice of Warren's pronouncements on eateries. – FumbleFingers Nov 18 '11 at 14:15

score 16 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 17 '11 at 16:42

16

discourage fits somewhat, but not by itself.

"I discourage you from using that item."

answered Nov 17 '11 at 16:42

Chris Cudmore

2,499

This use of discourage sounds odd to me. – z7sg Ѫ Nov 17 '11 at 17:42
6

Agreed it's very odd in this "bare" form. But "I would discourage you from..." is quite common. – FumbleFingers Nov 17 '11 at 17:45

score 13 · Answer 6 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

As @breen and others have said, the standard phrasing for the opposite of I recommend is probably I advise against.

But if you're not really interested in specifying who advises against something, you might consider deprecate - to express earnest disapproval of. Saying something is deprecated is standard terminology in the context of software components/methods, but there's no reason why it couldn't be used more widely.

Usage for deprecated was declining before its recent revival in computing, probably because of overlap with depreciate. But for the time being I'd stick with the past particple, and avoid, for example, "I deprecate that course of action".

score 9 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 17 '11 at 16:49

9

I would suggest "caution against."

answered Nov 17 '11 at 16:49

Aducci

501

score 5 · Answer 8 · answered Nov 17 '11 at 17:28

5

"I recommended against that item"

answered Nov 17 '11 at 17:28

Dave

522

score 4 · Answer 9 · answered Nov 18 '11 at 02:53

4

Upvote:

I recommend that answer. | That answer is recommended.

Downvote:

I advise against that answer. | That answer is ill-advised.

answered Nov 18 '11 at 02:53

Vic Goldfeld

161

score 3 · Answer 10 · answered Dec 02 '11 at 03:30

3

Frankly, I'm surprised that no one has suggested deplore. While I concur with many of the other answers, I would not encourage, advocate, urge, esteem, or prescribe their use.

answered Dec 02 '11 at 03:30

mcw

373

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Nov 17 '11 at 21:28

2

How about,

I disapprove of this item
I discourage using this item
I dissuade using this item

answered Nov 17 '11 at 21:28

Seesharp

137

I think "dissuade" is normally transitive. You should mention who you are dissuading. "I dissuade you from using this item." Even then, it sound presumptuous that you would be successful. "I would dissuade people from using this item." or "I'd try to dissuade you from using this item." – Oddthinking Nov 18 '11 at 11:16

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Apr 19 '17 at 04:00

Ye who arrived here as I did, hunting antonyms for this word on google, perhaps consider also:

condemn - express complete disapproval of, typically in public
censure - express severe disapproval of, typically in a formal statement.
denounce - publicly declare to be wrong or evil.
decry - publicly denounce [so... denounce, then?]
criticize - indicate the faults of, in a disapproving way.
vilify - speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner.
deprecate - express disapproval of. [Suggested by others]
proscribe - 1) forbid, especially by law. 2) denounce or condemn.
disparage - regard or represent as being of little worth.

(All definitions from Google's define command, with my italics to highlight main differences in usage, and my [comments])

"proscribe" is what I needed, thanks! It can be contrasted against "prescribe", like "The doctor prescribes arrowroot" (you should eat arrowroot) vs. "The doctor proscribes arrowroot" (you should not eat arrowroot) — Bill Mei, Mar 02 '19 at 00:53

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 17 '11 at 17:51

1

Come on, upvote means recommend while downvote means the opposite!

So please recommend my answer to the OP simply means upvote my answer please!

Just for fun :)

answered Nov 17 '11 at 17:51

Terry Li

10,108

2

Simplest yet most insightful answer ever!!! Good job, Terry :) – Leaf Shadow Nov 17 '11 at 17:55
3

-1. Should be community wiki, or a comment, rather. – Mateen Ulhaq Nov 18 '11 at 06:15

score 0 · Answer 14 · edited Nov 18 '11 at 08:51

0

disapprove, discourage, dissuade

Those are the words, now you must know in which situation each should be used.

edited Nov 18 '11 at 08:51

Hugo

67,535

answered Nov 18 '11 at 07:22

alculete

101

It would help if you could examples of each being in use. – Hugo Nov 18 '11 at 08:52
ok, for example the first one disapprove/discourage "I recomend the use of drugs" it would be "I disapprove/discourage the use of drugs" don't have in mind a phrase for the last one English isn't my language, I speak portuguese – alculete Nov 18 '11 at 14:57

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Aug 20 '12 at 07:42

0

How about simply "recommend against"

I recommend against doing so

answered Aug 20 '12 at 07:42

treecoder

281

score -2 · Answer 16 · answered Nov 23 '11 at 20:08

-2

I would simply negate recommend into do not recommend

eg: I recommend x. I do not reccomend y.

answered Nov 23 '11 at 20:08

Jessica Brown

651

"do not recommend" describes the absence of recommendation. This is not the same as advising against something, which is the opposite of recommending it. – GreenAsJade Mar 11 '16 at 23:14
@GreenAsJade Technically you are correct, but in everyday speak, saying “I do not recommend it” is an advisement against it. Never have I heard someone say “I don’t recommend something” when they mean they simply don’t have an opinion on it. Possibly, they might say “I don’t necessarily recommend it.” – chharvey May 08 '18 at 13:11
Coming back to this now, I agree with you. I'm not sure why I didn't see it that way a year ago! – GreenAsJade May 09 '18 at 01:26

Antonym of "recommend"

16 Answers16

Linked