nurture

[nur-cher]

verb (used with object)

nurtured, nurturing 

1. to feed and protect.

   to nurture one's offspring.

2. to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development; foster.

   to nurture promising musicians.

3. to bring up; train; educate.

noun

1. rearing, upbringing, training, education, or the like.

2. development.

   the nurture of young artists.

3. something that nourishes; nourishment; food.

nurture

/ ˈnɜːtʃə /

noun

1. the act or process of promoting the development, etc, of a child

2. something that nourishes

3. biology the environmental factors that partly determine the structure of an organism See also nature

verb

1. to feed or support

2. to educate or train

Other Word Forms

• nurturable adjective
• nurtureless adjective
• nurturer noun
• unnurtured adjective
• well-nurtured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nurture¹

First recorded in 1300–50; (noun) Middle English norture, from Middle French, variant of nourriture, from Late Latin nūtrītūra “a nourishing,” equivalent to Latin nūtrīt(us) (past participle of nūtrīre “to feed”) + -ūra noun suffix; nourish, -ure; (verb) derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nurture¹

C14: from Old French norriture, from Latin nutrīre to nourish

Synonym Study

See nurse.

Example Sentences

The family came vividly alive—we sensed Augustine’s role as nurturing mother, as well as the cockiness of the older son.

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“There’s a security rationale behind it, but you can also think of it as industrial policy. It represents a very deliberate attempt to spend money in Germany and nurture domestic industry,” Winkler said.

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The theater Sheta ran in the camp, which he nurtured into an internationally known lodestar of Palestinian cultural resistance?

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The things we keep and use in the kitchen, especially, can conjure powerful memories: aromatic reminders of nurturing care and loving connection as well as less savory bites of deprivation, regret, disappointment and loss.

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They alienate young men, not just from women but also from each other, nurturing a worldview that sees all relationships as determined by hierarchy and domination.

Read more on Salon