emboldened

American  

[em-bohl-dnd] / ɛmˈboʊl dnd /

Rarely imboldened

adjective

1. 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.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of embolden.

Etymology

Origin of emboldened

embolden ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

They may even feel emboldened to misbehave again.

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026

China's President Xi Jinping made a rare visit to North Korea on Monday, where he met an emboldened Kim Jong Un who has drawn closer to Moscow while expanding his country's nuclear weapons programme.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

Instead, it emboldened a new generation of fakers who saw the easy money he made off eager buyers and realized that others involved in the fraud weren’t held accountable.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

But the last year has certainly emboldened Beijing.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

He did not feel defeated by the end of the Soviet Union; he felt emboldened by it.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• buoyant
• cheerful
• comfortable
• confident
• eager
• enthusiastic
• rosy
• sanguine
• trusting
• upbeat