encourage
[ en-kur-ij, -kuhr- ]
/ ɛnˈkɜr ɪdʒ, -ˈkʌr- /
Save This Word!
verb (used with object), en·cour·aged, en·cour·ag·ing.
to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence: His coach encouraged him throughout the marathon race to keep on running.
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.
OTHER WORDS FOR encourage
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of encourage
OTHER WORDS FROM encourage
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use encourage in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for encourage
encourage
/ (ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ) /
verb (tr)
to inspire (someone) with the courage or confidence (to do something)
to stimulate (something or someone to do something) by approval or help; support
Derived forms of encourage
encouragement, nounencourager, nounencouraging, adjectiveencouragingly, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012