nourish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to sustain with food or nutriment; supply with what is necessary for life, health, and growth.
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to cherish, foster, keep alive, etc..
He had long nourished the dream of living abroad.
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to strengthen, build up, or promote.
to nourish discontent among the workers; to nourish the arts in one's community.
- Antonyms:
- discourage
verb
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to provide with the materials necessary for life and growth
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to support or encourage (an idea, feeling, etc); foster
to nourish resentment
Usage
What does nourish mean? Nourish means to promote healthy growth—to do or provide what’s needed for someone or something to be healthy and to grow and develop.The word is most commonly used in relation to food. Healthy food nourishes us. Parents try to nourish their children by feeding them healthy foods. Sometimes, food is said to nourish more than the body, as in A warm, home-cooked meal nourishes the body and the spirit. However, nourish can be used in many other contexts, including those that don’t involve food, as in Education nourishes our minds. In the context of the growth and development of things, such as communities and relationships, nourish means to build up or promote, as in This grant is intended to nourish the local arts and culture scene. A more common synonym for this sense of the word is nurture.In all of these senses, nourish is a somewhat formal and perhaps poetic word—it usually means something loftier than feed.Less commonly, nourish can mean to cherish, foster, or keep alive, especially something abstract, like hopes or dreams. This isn’t always something positive—you can nourish a grudge, for example.The word nourished is often used as an adjective, including in terms like well nourished, poorly nourished, undernourished, and malnourished. Things that nourish can be described with the adjective nourishing. The noun nourishment can refer to the act of nourishing or to something that nourishes.Example: As a mother, it’s my job to nourish my kids physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Related Words
See nurse.
Other Word Forms
- nourishable adjective
- nourisher noun
- nourishing adjective
- nourishingly adverb
- overnourish verb (used with object)
- renourish verb (used with object)
- self-nourished adjective
- unnourishable adjective
- unnourished adjective
- well-nourished adjective
Etymology
Origin of nourish
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English norisshe, from Old French noriss-, long stem of norir, from Latin nūtrīre “to feed”; nurse, -ish 2
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.
It’s easy to get caught up in the hoopla of Michelin stars and World’s 50 Best lists, but by making restaurants status symbols, we often forget that their purpose is to nourish and sustain us.
Supporters say looser schedules centred around practical projects and outdoor activities help nourish creativity that is squashed by the national curriculum.
From Barron's
Groceries cost more, time feels thinner and the idea that eating well — both pleasurable and nourishing — should be attainable on a modest budget can feel almost quaint.
From Salon
Inside those roots live microbes that extract nutrients, which then nourish the worms.
From Science Daily
“The idea of memory manipulation, to me, makes sense if we have an ethically bounded goal, and that ethically bounded goal is to restore health and nourish human well being,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
