encourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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encourages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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.
-
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)
-
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
-
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:
The district is designated an Opportunity Zone under a nearly decade-old federal provision created to encourage investment in lower-income communities by offering tax breaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
In this case, the hormones appear to encourage the remaining blue cones to change into red and green cones.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
So the cheaper option in most cases is to buy the bag of fun-sized treats — and encourage kids not to be greedy in how much they grab.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
"We continue to encourage those policy makers to really understand the data," Hudson told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
“Trust me, Duke. They’ll delay new episodes until you’re better if we—or rather, I—can encourage Fred to make a few more embarrassing blunders.”
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
The document encourages the AI to explore the idea that it is humanlike and experiences feelings, and uses excessively humanizing language for Claude “to be a good person.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Mindfulness meditation encourages people to observe their thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without immediately judging or reacting to them.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
It encourages the public to report suspected waste crime to its incident hotline or via its website.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Tech companies are also increasingly branding AI assistants as cute mascots, a choice that some say encourages users to project personalities and emotions onto the agent.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
Gauguin thinks so, too—he pays Vincent compliments, encourages him, and tells him he especially loves what he’s doing with sunflowers.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
US Protestant missionaries encouraged Sagada's residents to bury their dead and light candles on their graves, he said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
“The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery,” she added.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite Día de los Muertos attire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
“I’m encouraged by Goldfish, but we have much more work to do,” Beekhuizen said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Father Torralba encouraged Joey to tell Marie Dachauer all about Tala, and that’s just what Joey does.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Across the country, nonpartisan groups are holding last-minute voting events, encouraging people to fill out their ballots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
They added that the king will "primarily focus on encouraging practical solutions and united efforts to address global challenges and opportunities".
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
However, the Scottish government agency said there were many encouraging signs of natural recovery among other species following the fire.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
For Thompson, one of the most encouraging aspects of the discovery is how consistently the different measurements support the same interpretation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
The rat crews that manned the heavy object were changed every hour by Cheesethief, who stayed with the ram the whole time, encouraging the carriers on to greater efforts.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
