encourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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encourages,
present (3rd person singular)
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encouraged,
past participle, past
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encouraging
present participle
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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:
It’s imperative that films challenge us and encourage discussion, even the bad ones.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Increased rates can encourage people to save money by increasing their potential returns.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Those proteins could provide researchers with clues about how to encourage damaged human hearts to generate more muscle cells.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
I’d also highly encourage you to check out reputable refurbished options, following the guidance of my colleague Nicole Nguyen for safe shopping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Yet over time, he’d won a few incremental victories, and this seemed to encourage him.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
However, royal sources have said that the King encourages all projects which support wounded service personnel.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Activation of GPR133 encourages the activity of osteoblasts while reducing the activity of osteoclasts.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
Denied, he settles for iced tea, but encourages me to eat with the geniality and concern of a grandparent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Along with giving tweens and teens something to look forward to, recess encourages movement, builds social confidence, and fosters a sense of community, which are all vital to healthy development.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
“Turn left on Eagle Lake Drive,” Loretta encourages.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
The central insight is that by improving the return investors can hope to achieve, this capital-gains tax cut encouraged more risk-taking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
I was sitting in seventh grade social studies, where we were encouraged to discuss current events.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Jennifer reported the situation with Haggis Waggon Tours to Job Centre staff who had originally encouraged her to attend the job fair.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Over a long time frame this encouraged the carry trade, a strategy whereby short positions in the perennially weak, low-yielding yen are used to fund long positions in higher-yielding or riskier assets in other currencies.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
He was encouraged to write a letter to the Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, and he composed a five-hundred-word plea, extracts of which follow:
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
And the most encouraging of those moments have largely come from the Trojans’ talented freshman class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Galaxea’s Hong Kong IPO plan is subject to approval from the CSRC, which is encouraging humanoid robot companies to improve financials and focus on achieving technological innovations before rushing to go public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Researchers are encouraging other descendants of Franklin expedition members to contact the team, since additional DNA samples could help identify more of the still unknown remains.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Where they differ from the market consensus is they voice their opinion that inflation data has been more encouraging than expected with eurozone’s core consumer price index only up 2.4% year- over-year in August.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
He glanced at his father, who gave him an encouraging wink and gently squeezed his shoulder.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
