encourage

en·cour·age  (n-kûrj, -kr-)

tr.v. en·cour·aged, en·cour·ag·ing, en·cour·ag·es

1. To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.

2. To give support to; foster: policies designed to encourage private investment.

3. To stimulate; spur: burning the field to encourage new plant growth.

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[Middle English encouragen, from Old French encoragier : en-, causative pref.; see en-¹ + corage, courage; see courage.]

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en·courag·er n.

Synonyms: encourage, animate, cheer, embolden, hearten, inspirit
These verbs mean to impart courage, inspiration, and resolution to: encouraged the athlete to compete; played music to animate the crowd; a visitor cheering the patient; was emboldened to sing for the guests; praise that heartened us; a pep talk that inspirited the weary team.

Antonym: discourage

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encourage

Verb

[-aging, -aged]

1. to give (someone) the confidence to do something

2. to stimulate (something or someone) by approval or help [French encourager]

encouragement n
encouraging adj

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	encourage - contribute to the progress or growth of; "I am promoting the use of computers in the classroom" promote, further, boost, advance connive at, wink at - give one's silent approval to foster, further - promote the growth of; "Foster our children's well-being and education" spur - incite or stimulate; "The Academy was formed to spur research" help - contribute to the furtherance of; "This money will help the development of literacy in developing countries" carry - take further or advance; "carry a cause" feed - support or promote; "His admiration fed her vanity" conduce, contribute, lead - be conducive to; "The use of computers in the classroom lead to better writing" back up, support - give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to; "She supported him during the illness"; "Her children always backed her up"
	2.	encourage - inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to exhort, pep up, root on, urge on, barrack, urge, inspire, cheer - spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts; "The crowd cheered the demonstrating strikers" nurture, foster - help develop, help grow; "nurture his talents" hollo - encourage somebody by crying hollo animate, enliven, inspire, invigorate, exalt - heighten or intensify; "These paintings exalt the imagination" cheer, embolden, hearten, recreate - give encouragement to draw out - make more sociable; "The therapist drew out the shy girl" bring out - encourage to be less reserved; "The teacher tried to bring out the shy boy" goad, spur - give heart or courage to discourage - deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged
	3.	encourage - spur on; "His financial success encouraged him to look for a wife" cause, induce, stimulate, make, get, have - cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner; "The ads induced me to buy a VCR"; "My children finally got me to buy a computer"; "My wife made me buy a new sofa"

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encourage

verb 1. inspire, comfort, rally, cheer, stimulate, reassure, animate, console, rouse, hearten, cheer up, embolden, buoy up, pep up, boost someone's morale, give hope to, buck up (informal) gee up, lift the spirits of, give confidence to, inspirit << OPPOSITE discourage

2. urge, persuade, prompt, spur, coax, incite, egg on, abet << OPPOSITE dissuade

verb 3. promote, back, help, support, increase, further, aid, forward, advance, favour, boost, strengthen, foster, advocate, stimulate, endorse, commend, succour << OPPOSITE prevent

Translations

encourage [ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ] vt → alentar, animar [+ growth]; estimular;

to encourage sb (to do sth) → animar a algn (a hacer algo)

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encourage [ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ] vt → encourager [+ industry, growth]; favoriser;

to encourage sb to do sth → encourager qn à faire qch

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encourage [ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ] vt (activity, attitude) → unterstützen;

(growth, industry) → fördern;

to encourage sb (to do sth) → jdn ermutigen(, etw zu tun)

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encourage [ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ] vt → incoraggiare [+ industry, growth etc]; favorire;

to encourage sb to do sth → incoraggiare qn a fare qc

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encourage

v encourage [inˈkaridʒ, (American ) -ˈkə:-]

1 to give support, confidence or hope to The general tried to encourage the troops: You should not encourage him in his extravagance; I felt encouraged by his praise. aanmoedig, aanspoor يُشَجِّع насърчавам povzbudit opmuntre ermutigen ενθαρρύνω animar julgustama ترغیب کردن؛ دلگرمی دادن rohkaista encourager לְעוֹדֵד उत्साहित करना ohrabriti (fel)bátorít memberi semangat hvetja, telja kjark í incoraggiare 励ます 용기를 북돋다 (pa)drąsinti, paskatinti uzmundrināt; iedrošināt meyakinkan bemoedigen oppmuntre, sette mot i zachęcać, dodawać odwagi incentivar a încuraja ободрять; поощрять povzbudiť spodbujati ohrabriti stödja, gynna, uppmuntra ปลุกใจ cesaret vermek 鼓勵 підтримувати حوصلہ بڑھانا khuyến khích 鼓励

2 to urge (a person) to do something You must encourage him to try again. bemoedig يَحُثُّ окуражавам povzbudit opmuntre; tilskynde anspornen παροτρύνω animar kehutama ترغیب کردن kannustaa encourager (à) לְעוֹדֵד कुछ करने के लिए आग्रह करना potaknuti buzdít mendorong hvetja incoraggiare, incitare すすめる 장려하다 paakinti mudināt; skubināt galak aanmoedigen oppfordre (til), fremme zachęcać animar a stimula воодушевлять povzbudenie spodbujati ohrabriti uppmuntra, sporra, egga กระตุ้น teşvik etmek 敦促 підбадьорювати; заохочувати حوصلہ افزائی کرنا thúc giục 鼓励

adj enˈcouraging

aanmoedigend مُشَجِّع насърчителен povzbudivý opmuntrende; glædelig ermutigend ενθαρρυντικός alentador julgustav دلگرم کننده؛ امیدوار کننده rohkaiseva encourageant מְעוֹדֵד आशाप्रद, प्रोत्साहक ohrabrujući bátorító penuh dorongan hvetjandi incoraggiante 励みになる 고무적인 drąsinantis uzmundrinošs; iedrošinošs menggalakkan bemoedigend oppmuntrende zachęcający animador încurajator ободряющий povzbudivý bodrilen ohrabrujući uppmuntrande, hoppingivande, hoppfull ที่กระตุ้น cesaret verici, teşvik edici 鼓勵的 підбадьорливий, заохочувальний حوصلہ افزا khích lệ 鼓励的

adv enˈcouragingly

aansporend بصورةٍ مُشَجِّعَه насърчително povzbudivě opmuntrende; glædeligt ermutigend ενθαρρυντικά alentadoramente julgustavalt بطور امیدوار کننده rohkaisevasti d'une manière encourageante בְעִידוּד आग्रहपूर्वक ohrabrujuće bátorítóan secara penuh dorongan á hvetjandi hátt in maniera incoraggiante 励ますように 고무적으로 su padrąsinimu, padrąsindamas uzmundrinoši; iedrošinoši dengan menggalakkan bemoedigend oppmuntrende zachęcająco de modo animador încurajator ободряюще povzbudivo spodbujajoče ohrabrujući uppmuntrande, hoppfullt อย่างกระตุ้น cesaret verici bir şekilde, teşvik ederek 鼓勵地 заохочувально حوصلہ بڑھانے کے انداز میں cổ vũ; động viên 鼓励地

n enˈcouragement

words of encouragement; He must be given every encouragement. bemoediging تَشْجيع насърчаване povzbuzení opmuntring; tilskyndelse die Ermutigung ενθάρρυνση ánimo julgustus تشویق؛ دلگرمی rohkaisu encouragement עִידוּד प्रोत्साहन ohrabrenje bátorítás kata-kata dorongan uppörvun, hvatning incoraggiamento 励まし 격려, 지지 padrąsinimas uzmundrinājums; iedrošinājums galakkan aanmoediging oppmuntring, framhjelp(ing) zachęta incentivo încurajare ободрение; поддержка povzbudenie spodbuda ohrabrenje uppmuntran การให้กำลังใจ teşvik, cesaretlendirme 鼓勵 підбадьорювання; заохочування حوصلہ افزائی sự khích lệ 鼓励

the opposite of encourage is discourage .