encourage
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
His coach encouraged him throughout the marathon race to keep on running.
- Antonyms:
- dishearten, discourage
-
to stimulate by assistance, approval, etc..
One of the chief duties of a teacher is to encourage students.
-
to promote, advance, or foster.
Poverty often encourages crime.
verb
-
to inspire (someone) with the courage or confidence (to do something)
-
to stimulate (something or someone to do something) by approval or help; support
Other Word Forms
- encouragement noun
- encourager noun
- encouraging adjective
- encouragingly adverb
- overencourage verb (used with object)
- preencourage verb (used with object)
- reencourage verb (used with object)
- unencouraged adjective
- unencouraging adjective
- well-encouraged adjective
Etymology
Origin of encourage
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English encoragen, from Anglo-French, Middle French encorag(i)er; en- 1 ( def. ), courage ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lindo spoke about a “challenging career,” one that he hoped would be “an encouraging example to all actors out there who may currently be facing their own challenges.”
From Los Angeles Times
“He is encouraging Iranians to take the future into their own hands, but they’re not in a position to do that.”
Over time, frequent intake may also play a role in fatty liver disease, similar to other sugary products that spike blood sugar and encourage fat storage in the liver.
From Science Daily
British and Irish citizens living in the Middle East are being encouraged to sign up to registration schemes.
From BBC
But she was encouraged to try when the Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan visited her charity.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
