encourage
Americanverb (used with object)
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to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
His coach encouraged him throughout the marathon race to keep on running.
- Antonyms:
- dishearten, discourage
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to stimulate by assistance, approval, etc..
One of the chief duties of a teacher is to encourage students.
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to promote, advance, or foster.
Poverty often encourages crime.
verb
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to inspire (someone) with the courage or confidence (to do something)
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to stimulate (something or someone to do something) by approval or help; support
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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encouragementnoun
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encouragernoun
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overencourageverb (used with object)
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preencourageverb (used with object)
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reencourageverb (used with object)
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encouragingadjective
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unencouragedadjective
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unencouragingadjective
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well-encouragedadjective
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encouraginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encouragesimple
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encouragessimple
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have encouragedperfect
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has encouragedperfect
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am encouragingprogressive
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are encouragingprogressive
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is encouragingprogressive
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have been encouragingperfect progressive
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has been encouragingperfect progressive
Past
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encouragedsimple
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had encouragedperfect
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was encouragingprogressive
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were encouragingprogressive
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had been encouragingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of encourage
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English encoragen, from Anglo-French, Middle French encorag(i)er; see en- 1 ( def. ), courage ( def. )
Explanation
When you encourage someone, you give him or her the courage or confidence to do something, like when you encourage your little brother to play harder by yelling his name from the sidelines of the soccer field. The word encourage comes from the Old French word encoragier, meaning "make strong, hearten." When you encourage the tomato plants in your garden, you water them to promote their growth and health. Encourage can also mean to inspire with hope, like when you encourage your friends to try out for the school play by complimenting their singing and acting talents.
Vocabulary lists containing encourage
Motherlode: A Mother's Day Lexicon
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Body Language: Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart")
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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 Market Match program is an incentive offered at the Central Avenue Farmers Market to encourage shoppers to use EBT benefits on local produce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some parents on benefits will be given up to £4,500 a year to encourage their children to start apprenticeships, the government has said.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
You could encourage her to distribute any items of sentimental value now, but from what you say, after her house is sold there will be very little left.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“And over time encourage them to create more content, and lean even more heavily into the brand and feel even more connected to us.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Could Nanabozho at least say a word or two in his own defense, or encourage Omakayas to go on with her life?
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
So he encourages people to identify the relationships in their lives that already make them feel safe and understood, and to use them "as a vehicle for becoming more secure overall".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Its main tool to achieve this is the economy's key interest rate -- raising rates tends to curtail economic activity and high prices, while lowering them encourages hiring and investment but can also stoke inflation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Speaking at the Time 100 Sports gala, LeBron James expresses gratitude to USC staff members who saved Bronny after 2023 cardiac arrest and encourages others to be prepared for such emergencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The scarcity of extreme first-day pops on IPOs encourages Lamont that speculative euphoria may be absent at present.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
New information about Japanese genetics and language origins, accumulating since the book’s first publication, now encourages me to test how Japan fits into my overall framework.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Health Secretary Angela Constance said she was encouraged by the "developments we have made thus far" since the first centre opened five months ago in Edinburgh.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s largest trade group, has publicly encouraged the administration to pull other levers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The discovery encouraged astronomers to expand their searches beyond galactic cores.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Health Secretary Angela Constance said she was encouraged by the "developments we have made thus far", stressing that the pilot programme was still "in the early stages".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
I usually only ever wore jeans, but Audrey encouraged me to try something new.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
“While still very early, booking trends for 2027 are encouraging and pacing ahead of historical levels, including for itineraries where demand was impacted by geopolitical developments this year,” Chief Financial Officer Naftali Holtz said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
While still below normal, it’s “an encouraging improvement,” the center said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
If his mother were still alive today, he says, she would be out on the streets, encouraging every eligible American to exercise their right to vote, in spite of Callais.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
And in Italy, encouraging children to be more active can be surprisingly difficult.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Over time, many sports teams adopted a name, logo, or mascot that could stir fans by encouraging them to think of sports games as warlike events.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
