How do you spell encourage

Encourage Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

en·​cour·​age in-ˈkər-ij 

-ˈkə-rij,

en-

transitive verb

1

a

: to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope : hearten

she was encouraged to continue by her early success

b

: to attempt to persuade : urge

they encouraged him to go back to school

2

: to spur on : stimulate

warm weather encourages plant growth

3

: to give help or patronage to : foster

government grants designed to encourage conservation

encourager noun

Synonyms

• bear up
• buck up
• buoy (up)
• cheer (up)
• chirk (up)
• embolden
• hearten
• inspire
• inspirit
• steel

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Example Sentences

They encouraged us in our work. Encourage each other with kind words. The program is meant to encourage savings. Warm weather encourages plant growth. He claims the new regulations will encourage investment. He claims the new regulations will encourage people to invest. We want to encourage students to read more. My parents encouraged me to go back to college. They encouraged her to go. See More

Recent Examples on the Web The project in question was designed to minimize ground disturbance and encourage growth of existing shrubs through seasonal watering. Louis Sahagúnstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2022 Truth is lost upon us in a country where billionaires buy social media platforms and encourage misinformation. Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Nov. 2022 The pair discussed various methods for conducting polls and surveys to elicit honest responses, encourage participation among key demographics, and make accurate predictions about voting behavior. Nr Staff, National Review, 4 Nov. 2022 Both Begay and Dosela are organizers with Northeast Arizona Native Democrats, hired to educate their communities about elections, garner support for Democratic candidates, and encourage voting. Sue Halpern, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2022 The annual award is given to encourage promising young ASCAP composers of musical theater and is funded by Mary Rodgers and the Rodgers Family Foundation. Paul Grein, Billboard, 3 Nov. 2022 The key is to lift the plant off the ground and encourage air circulation; the closer to the soil, the more likely the plant will be exposed to blight, rot, bugs—and, um, in NYC, rats. Natasha Li Pickowicz, Bon Appétit, 3 Nov. 2022 Day of the Dead — or Dia de los Muertos — is a Mexican and Latino holiday in which people celebrate the lives of deceased loved ones and encourage their souls to visit with them. Acacia Coronado, ajc, 2 Nov. 2022 This progress indicates public health efforts to raise awareness of the infection and encourage vaccination of those at high risk are working. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 2 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'encourage. ' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English encoragen, from Anglo-French encorager, from en- + curage courage

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of encourage was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Dictionary Entries Near

encounter group

encourage

encouragement

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

Style

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“Encourage. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encourage. Accessed 12 Nov. 2022.

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Kids Definition

encourage

en·​cour·​age in-ˈkər-ij 

-ˈkə-rij

1

a

: to cause to feel courage, spirit, or hope

encouraged by her kind words

b

: to try to persuade

encouraged him to go back to school

2

: to spur on : stimulate

3

: to give help to : foster

government grants to encourage young artists

warm weather encourages plant growth

encouragement

noun

encouragingly

-ij-iŋ-lē

-rij-

adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on

Nglish: Translation of encourage for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of encourage for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: 10 Nov 2022 - Updated example sentences

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intoxicate

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Encourage Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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[ en-kur-ij, -kuhr- ]

/ ɛnˈkɜr ɪdʒ, -ˈkʌr- /

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See synonyms for: encourage / encouraged / encourages / encouraging on Thesaurus.com

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

verb (used with object), en·cour·aged, en·cour·ag·ing.

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 teacher is to encourage students.

to promote, advance, or foster: Poverty often encourages crime.

OTHER WORDS FOR encourage

1 embolden, hearten, reassure.

2 urge; support, aid, help.

See synonyms for encourage on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR encourage

1 discourage, dishearten.

See antonyms for encourage on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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Origin of encourage

1400–50; late Middle English encoragen<Anglo-French, Middle French encorag(i)er.See en-¹, courage

OTHER WORDS FROM encourage

en·cour·ag·er, nounen·cour·ag·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·en·cour·age, verb (used with object), o·ver·en·cour·aged, o·ver·en·cour·ag·ing. pre·en·cour·age, verb (used with object), pre·en·cour·aged, pre·en·cour·ag·ing.

re·en·cour·age, verb (used with object), re·en·cour·aged, re·en·cour·ag·ing.un·en·cour·aged, adjectiveun·en·cour·ag·ing, adjectivewell-en·cour·aged, adjective

Words nearby encourage

encopresis, encore, encounter, encounter group, encounter session, encourage, encouragement, encrimson, encrinite, encroach, encroaching

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to encourage

boost, buoy, embolden, hearten, inspire, reassure, restore, spur, strengthen, advocate, aid, assist, bolster, develop, ease, favor, further, improve, invite, promote

How to use encourage in a sentence

• In addition to mitigating AI harms, the goal of the principles is to encourage the development of AI systems that could improve children’s growth and well-being.

  Why kids need special protection from AI’s influence|Karen Hao|September 17, 2020|MIT Technology Review

• Those who live off campus but may need to come to campus are encouraged to go to a health clinic for free testing if they show any symptoms.

  Even the most cautious schools are seeing outbreaks|Sy Mukherjee|September 17, 2020|Fortune

• Group culture, too, can encourage certain types of content — including content that violates Facebook’s rules — and admins are often willing participants in that.

  Facebook tries to clean up Groups with new policies|Sarah Perez|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch

• Staff offices would remain open, Schutzenhofer said, but employees were encouraged to work from home.

  Trump’s businesses charged Secret Service more than $1.1 million, including for rooms in club shuttered for pandemic|David Fahrenthold, Josh Dawsey|September 17, 2020|Washington Post

• Those industries are doing what they can to encourage people to spend like they might have without a pandemic.

  Zoom parties, throwing candy: How Halloween might happen during Covid-19|Alexandra Ossola|September 17, 2020|Quartz

• If we want that to change, then all of us have to encourage our legislators to make funding community policing a priority.

  How to Solve the Policing Crisis|Keli Goff|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

• It would definitely be wrong for TLC to encourage us to gawk at these men but their story is worth investigating nonetheless.

  Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism|Samantha Allen|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST

• That tends to encourage large and small holders alike to consider turning their weakened rubles into other currencies.

  Putin Can’t Bully or Bomb a Recession|Daniel Gross|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• In the eyes of many pro-life advocates, securing rights for pregnant women is one more way to encourage women to stay pregnant.

  The Supreme Court Case Uniting Pro-Lifers & Pro-Choicers|Emily Shire|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• Educated voters will not be allowed to share pens, as the commission said it would encourage them to bring personal pens.

  Liberian Senatorial Elections Defy Ebola|Wade Williams|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• This and several other things were said by Sieur de Biancourt to encourage his people.

  The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various

• And, incidentally, to encourage retiring and diffident lady interviewers.

  Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various

• Very soon I induced my directors to adopt the view that the railway company must encourage and help the project.

  Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow

• The King of Portugal was a powerful ruler and anxious for new possessions, yet he did not encourage Magellan.

  Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade

• Let us remember that "if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom!"

  The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker

British Dictionary definitions for encourage

encourage

/ (ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ) /

verb (tr)

to inspire (someone) with the courage or confidence (to do something)

to stimulate (something or someone to do something) by approval or help; support

Derived forms of encourage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to spell encourage? - check spelling

To find out how this word is spelled, you need to determine what part of speech this word is. Next, find the rule of the Russian language. Let's figure it out.

Correct spelling:

"ENCOURAGE"

Few people can pass this test in Russian the first time! Try your hand!

Other spellings

In this section we give all forms of the word, case declension (if possible according to the rules of Russian), singular and plural of encourage

Basic form of the word ENCOUNTER

Infinitive

encourage

Present

Past tense

Unit number			Mn. number
male	women	avg.
encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged

inclination

gerund

Present participle, active voice

	Unit number			Mn. number
	male genus	Female genus	Neutral
Im.	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging
Gen.	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging
Ref.	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging
Vinit. shower	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging
Vinit. inanimate	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging
Tv.	encouraging	encouraging, encouraging	encouraging	encouraging
Prev.	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging	encouraging
Cr. incl.	-	-	-	-

Present participle, passive voice

	Unit number			Mn. number
	male genus	Female genus	Neutral
Im.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Gen.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Ref.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Vinit. shower	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Vinit. inanimate	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Tv.	encouraged	encouraged, encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Prev.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Cr. incl.	encourage	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged

Past participle, active voice

	Unit number			Mn. number
	male genus	Female genus	Middle gender
Im.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Gen.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Ref.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Vinit. shower	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Vinit. inanimate	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Tv.	encouraged	encouraged, encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Prev.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Cr. incl.	-	-	-	-

Examples with the word “encourage”

Punish or more encourage ?

Children should be encouraged to be aware of their feelings and express them.

- It is not allowed to encourage children with rewards.

I will encourage, teach, support and challenge you.

"Encourage" how to spell? - check spelling

If you want to know how a word is spelled correctly, you need to determine what part of speech it is. Then find the rule of the Russian language. Let's figure it out.

Correct spelling:

"ENCOURAGE"

Few people can pass this test in Russian the first time! Try your hand!

Other spellings

Here we give all possible forms of the word, case declension (if possible from the point of view of Russian rules), singular and plural of the word encourage

Basic form of the word ENCOUNTER

Infinitive:

encourage

Future tense

Face	Unit number	Mn. number
1	encourage	encourage
2	encourage	encourage
3	will encourage	encourage

Past tense

Unit number			Mn. number
male	women	avg.
encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged

inclination

Unit number	Mn. number
encourage	encourage

gerund

present	past
-	encouraging, encouraging, encouraging

Past participle, active voice

	Unit number			Mn. number
	male genus	Female genus	Neutral
Im.	encouraged	encouraging	encouraged	encouraged
Gen.	encouraged	encouraging	encouraged	encouraged
Ref.	encouraged	encouraging	encouraged	encouraged
Vinit. shower	encouraged	encouraging	encouraged	encouraged
Vinit. inanimate	encouraged	encouraging	encouraged	encouraged
Tv.	encouraged	encouraging, encouraging	encouraged	encouraged
Prev.	encouraged	encouraging	encouraged	encouraged
Cr. incl.	-	-	-	-

Past participle, passive voice

	Unit number			Mn. number
	male genus	Female genus	Neutral
Im.	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged	encouraged
Gen.	rewarded	rewarded	rewarded	rewarded
Ref.	rewarded	rewarded	rewarded	encouraged
Vinit. shower	rewarded	rewarded	encouraged	rewarded
Vinit. inanimate	encouraged	rewarded	encouraged	encouraged
Tv.	encouraged	rewarded, rewarded	encouraged	rewarded
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