encourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
His coach encouraged him throughout the marathon race to keep on running.
- Antonyms:
- dishearten, discourage
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to stimulate by assistance, approval, etc..
One of the chief duties of a teacher is to encourage students.
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to promote, advance, or foster.
Poverty often encourages crime.
verb
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to inspire (someone) with the courage or confidence (to do something)
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to stimulate (something or someone to do something) by approval or help; support
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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encouragementnoun
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encouragernoun
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overencourageverb (used with object)
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preencourageverb (used with object)
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reencourageverb (used with object)
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encouragingadjective
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unencouragedadjective
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unencouragingadjective
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well-encouragedadjective
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encouraginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encouragesimple
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encouragessimple
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have encouragedperfect
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has encouragedperfect
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am encouragingprogressive
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are encouragingprogressive
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is encouragingprogressive
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have been encouragingperfect progressive
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has been encouragingperfect progressive
Past
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encouragedsimple
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had encouragedperfect
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was encouragingprogressive
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were encouragingprogressive
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had been encouragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of encourage
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English encoragen, from Anglo-French, Middle French encorag(i)er; see en- 1 ( def. ), courage ( def. )
Explanation
When you encourage someone, you give him or her the courage or confidence to do something, like when you encourage your little brother to play harder by yelling his name from the sidelines of the soccer field. The word encourage comes from the Old French word encoragier, meaning "make strong, hearten." When you encourage the tomato plants in your garden, you water them to promote their growth and health. Encourage can also mean to inspire with hope, like when you encourage your friends to try out for the school play by complimenting their singing and acting talents.
Vocabulary lists containing encourage
Motherlode: A Mother's Day Lexicon
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Body Language: Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart")
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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.
See Examples For:
Currency shifts also did little to encourage international buyers over the past year.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
"Warning labels on products exceeding nutrient thresholds could help parents navigate the toddler food environment and might encourage manufacturers to reformulate these products."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
By incentivizing the purchase of a new electric vehicle, that will encourage new production, which means more EVs on the road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Under plans to encourage young people into work, families will be offered a bursary to replace Universal Credit payments lost by starting jobs.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
But I didn’t want to ask because that would just encourage my mother to tell another story.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
A meal that provides useful nutrients may trigger the gut to send a message that encourages the brain to store details about where the food was found and how it was obtained.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
So he encourages people to identify the relationships in their lives that already make them feel safe and understood, and to use them "as a vehicle for becoming more secure overall".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Its main tool to achieve this is the economy's key interest rate -- raising rates tends to curtail economic activity and high prices, while lowering them encourages hiring and investment but can also stoke inflation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Speaking at the Time 100 Sports gala, LeBron James expresses gratitude to USC staff members who saved Bronny after 2023 cardiac arrest and encourages others to be prepared for such emergencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Similar to many of the other methods, the Orff Schulwerk emphasizes that children should experience first and then analyze or intellectualize about music afterwards, and encourages hands-on music-making regardless of skill level.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Etta provided email correspondences to the outlet and said the “Morbius” actor encouraged her to stay in contact via text after the invite.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
"I'd stopped everything, but he encouraged me and when I did lift a bar again, yes, it felt so natural, it felt right and that was very exciting."
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Day laborers crowded around notepads during the discussions, encouraged to openly debate on what they need to ensure their own safety while seeking work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
The government encouraged chip-related companies to pursue stock-market listings so they could raise more capital and be subjected to market discipline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
It was this work that soon convinced Vesalius that Galen had had little or no experience of human dissection and encouraged him to prepare his own book on human anatomy.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Meanwhile, lower interest rates can boost the economy by reducing borrowing costs and encouraging spending and investment.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
“I’m at a loss for words. You’ve been there for me the whole time, encouraging me. I’m just so thankful.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
If his mother were still alive today, he says, she would be out on the streets, encouraging every eligible American to exercise their right to vote, in spite of Callais.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
In her thoughtful piece this week, Elizabeth Bernstein looks at how some therapists are encouraging estrangement from family as a means of self-care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
She keeps him away by chattering with Grandpa about meaningless facts of various small towns, keeps him away by answering the encouraging texts from Luke, keeps him away with calls to Dr. Mann.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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.
