encouragement
Americannoun
-
encouragements
plural
-
the act of encouraging.
-
the state of being encouraged.
-
something that encourages.
Praise is the greatest encouragement.
- Synonyms:
- endorsement, lift, boost, support, praise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of encouragement
Explanation
When you help someone by offering positive words of support and approval, that's encouragement. It must have been the words of encouragement you gave in the airport lounge that helped your friend board the plane. Within the word encouragement we see the word "courage," which means the ability to face danger and deal with it. To encourage, then, is to help develop that ability in someone, while the "ment" at the end makes that development into a noun, the act of giving courage or support to another. You needed a little encouragement to try horse riding again, after your injuries healed.
Vocabulary lists containing encouragement
Catching Fire
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"Refugees Find New Lives"
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Taste of Salt
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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:
During the game, if he isn’t on the field, Rhoa can be seen giving encouragement to every player.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
It adopts a helpful no-punishment philosophy: If you don’t meet your goals or you step away from the app for an extended amount of time, it only sends encouragement.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
As a result, she struggled with mental health and an aversion to sexuality from her youth onward, finding solace in artistic creation but little encouragement on that front from those around her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Rose will have seen enough to deliver early signs of encouragement amid the disappointment of such a painful late loss.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The men, muttering words of encouragement, stepped away, allowing Jonathan to walk between them toward the fire.
From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi
I wonder how well and efficiently he would have written it with frequent and intermittent shouts being thrown his way, regardless of whether they were insults or encouragements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
A group of men were using their bare hands to try and free her as an anxious crowd stood outside, calling out encouragements to the rescuers.
From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2023
The chat and commenters on Twitter were screaming encouragements, hyped as all hell to have the privilege of watching Malenia fall for the 1,000th time.
From The Verge ● May 11, 2022
As rescue workers jockeyed to save the boy, throngs of people looking on at the site recited prayers and shouted encouragements to the rescue team.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
You wouldn’t budge, though the boys whispered encouragements.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
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.
