encouragement
Americannoun
-
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:
The US leader has since changed his tone and during their last encounter in Turkey earlier this month, he offered words of encouragement, saying he had done "an amazing job".
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Approaching audience members to explore their own feelings about their hair, she receives with surprised saucer eyes encouragement to embrace the braids she has.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
But now his physical resilience was under the spotlight - and the early signs at Wimbledon offered encouragement to those eyeing his throne.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“Everyone had a little bit of feedback that she gave, both encouragement and also points of improvement for each person, and I think it was received,” Ogwumike said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
With her encouragement, I began to speak at Chapman and other venues.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
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
Yet tucked among the encouragements to get “hipped to oneness” and “train the other sight” is the dark glimmer of where the cult-religion line blurs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025
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.
