encourage, inspirit, hearten, embolden mean to fill with courage or strength of purpose. encourage suggests the raising of one's confidence especially by an external agency.

ENCOURAGE definition: 1. to make someone more likely to do something, or to make something more likely to happen: 2. to…. Learn more.

ENCOURAGE definition: to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence. See examples of encourage used in a sentence.

Definition of encourage verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

1. To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence. 2. To give support to; foster: policies designed to encourage private investment. 3. To stimulate; spur: burning the field to encourage new plant …

If you encourage someone, you give them confidence, for example by letting them know that what they are doing is good and telling them that they should continue to do it.

to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence: His coach encouraged him throughout the marathon race to keep on running. to stimulate by assistance, approval, etc.: One of the chief duties of a …