encourage

verb

1)

the players were encouraged by the crowd's response

Syn:

hearten, cheer, buoy up, uplift, inspire, motivate, spur on, stir, stir up, fire up, stimulate, invigorate, vitalize, revitalize, embolden, fortify, rally; informal buck up, pep up, give a shot in the arm to

Ant:

discourage

2)

she had encouraged him to go

Syn:

persuade, coax, urge, press, push, pressure, pressurize, prod, goad, egg on, prompt, influence, sway; informal put ideas into one's head

Ant:

dissuade

3)

the municipal government must encourage local businesses

Syn:

support, back, champion, promote, further, foster, nurture, cultivate, strengthen, stimulate; help, assist, aid, boost, fuel

Ant:

hinder

••

encourage, embolden, foster, hearten, inspire, instigate, stimulate

To encourage is to give active help or to raise confidence to the point where one dares to do what is difficult (encouraged by her teacher, she set her sights on attending Harvard). Embolden also entails giving confidence or boldness, but it implies overcoming reluctance or shyness (success as a public speaker emboldened her to enter politics). To hearten is to put one's heart into or to renew someone's spirit (heartened by the news of his recovery), and to inspire is to infuse with confidence, resolution, or enthusiasm (inspired by her mother's example, she started exercising regularly). To foster is to encourage by nurturing or extending aid (to foster the growth of small businesses by offering low-interest loans); in some contexts, foster suggests an unwise or controversial kind of help (to foster rebellion among local farmers). Instigate also implies that what is being encouraged is not necessarily desirable (to instigate a fight), while stimulate is a more neutral term meaning to rouse to action or effort (to stimulate the growth of crops; to stimulate an interest in literature).