nurturing

American  

[nur-cher-ing] / ˈnɜr tʃər ɪŋ /

adjective

1. providing food, protection, comfort, or support.

   Creating safe, nurturing places where all children can grow and develop their unique gifts is a responsibility of all adult members of a society.

---

noun

1. the act of providing food, protection, support, or encouragement.

   There's no substitute for what nurturing can do for a child.

2. the act or process of educating or training.

   We hope to build an ecosystem in this county that encourages incubation, innovation, and nurturing of entrepreneurs.

Etymology

Origin of nurturing

First recorded in 1425–75; nurtur(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense; nurtur(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses

Example Sentences

Chabad rabbis believe every person possesses a divine spark worth nurturing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Elsewhere, you can watch the overly cute Christian homily “Forevergreen,” from Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, about a nurturing tree, a restless bear and the dangerous allure of potato chips.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

London Fashion Week, better known for nurturing new talent than for its big-name shows, kicks off on Thursday with a tribute to one of its stalwarts Paul Costelloe.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

"Omra was so young, her parents should have been nurturing her, allowing her to grow into the child she would become," he said.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

Every time she cut one, she would glare at me, and I don’t think she was thinking thoughts about nurturing one of her students in wisdom and learning.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• sustenance