Synonyms

emboldened

American

[em-bohl-dnd] / ɛmˈboʊl dnd /

Rarely imboldened

adjective

made bold or bolder; given the courage or nerve to do something daring, challenging, or controversial.

It was unclear whether the missile fire was the work of an emboldened rebel force, the military, or some mixture of both.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of embolden.

Etymology

Origin of emboldened

embolden ( def. ) + -ed ² ( 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.

But these bases are also more important to Gulf monarchies now facing an emboldened Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Perhaps emboldened by Pyongyang's new closeness to Russia, Trump's comment in October that he was "100 percent" open to meeting Kim again went unanswered.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

But this time, many of the most prominent conservative commentators felt emboldened enough to openly criticize the administration’s actions.

From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026

A Church of Ireland minister has said she hopes churches "feel emboldened to counteract racism whenever they see it".

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2026

The ruling allowed black students to anticipate a different future and emboldened a few of them to try to make it happen.

From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023