Wiktionary

encourage

See also: encouragé

English

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle English encouragen, encoragen, from Anglo-Norman encoragier, from Old French encoragier. Displaced native Old English hiertan, tyhtan, and trymman. By surface analysis, en- +‎ courage.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/, (US, hurry–furry merger) /ɪnˈkɝ.ɪd͡ʒ/
    • Hyphenation: en‧cour‧age
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • (Indic) IPA(key): /en.kəˈreː.d͡ʒ/
    • Hyphenation: en‧cou‧rage

Verb

edit

encourage (third-person singular simple present encourages, present participle encouraging, simple past and past participle encouraged) (transitive)

  1. To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
    Synonyms: bield, embolden; see also Thesaurus:incite
    Antonyms: discourage, dishearten
    I encouraged him during his race.
    Delia's coach encouraged her to focus on the positives.
    • 2024 October 30, Paul Clifton, “How can freight be a major part of rail's future?”, in RAIL, number 1021, page 57:
      "It's a lose-lose situation. It can be turned into a win-win. We should be encouraging and supporting expensive bi-mode freight locomotives, especially where capacity is constrained.
  2. To spur on, strongly recommend.
    Synonyms: exhort; see also Thesaurus:advise
    We encourage the use of bicycles in the town centre.
    We encourage you to cycle instead of taking the car.
  3. To foster, give help or patronage.
    Synonyms: promote; see also Thesaurus:nurture
    The royal family has always encouraged the arts in word and deed.
    • 1987 December 20, Tim Scaggs, “No Other Choice But To Go On A Hunger Strike”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 23, page 5:
      They remove all sense of self-responsibility from us prisoners. We have virtually no control over any aspect of our lives. This does not encourage our ability to return to community life outside.
    • 2013 May 10, James Ball, “US government attempts to stifle 3D-printer gun designs will ultimately fail”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      And this is where the larger problem lies: when states try to enforce impossible bans, everyone loses. 3D printing farragoes have all the hallmarks of the absolute worst kind of ineffectual ban: one which encourages overly draconian laws that carry huge side effects, and that ultimately to have little to no effect.

Derived terms

edit
edit

Translations

edit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

French

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Verb

edit

encourage

  1. inflection of encourager:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. singular imperative
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=encourage&oldid=85437463"