encourage
verb (used with object)
to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
were encouraging
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past progressiveof encourage.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
To that end, attendance trends were encouraging, as 322.8 million tickets were sold this summer, an increase of 22.6% from the 263.3 million sold last summer, according to data from entertainment analytics firm EntTelligence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
On 18 June, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said that the price falls seen after the latest deal were "encouraging".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Although the findings were encouraging, Kirkwood cautions that treatments for people remain far in the future.
From Science Daily ● May 19, 2026
“It didn’t seem to just be high wages that were encouraging them to go into nursing, but the general stability of the healthcare sector, which kind of surprised me,” Munnich said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
We were encouraging each other, hyping ourselves up.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
