Library / English Dictionary

ENCOURAGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Spur on

Example:

His financial success encouraged him to look for a wife

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "encourage" is one way to...):

cause; get; have; induce; make; stimulate (cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They encourage him to write the letter

Sense 2

Meaning:

Inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "encourage" is one way to...):

animate; enliven; exalt; inspire; invigorate (heighten or intensify)

Cause:

hope (be optimistic; be full of hope; have hopes)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "encourage"):

barrack; cheer; exhort; inspire; pep up; root on; urge; urge on (spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts)

foster; nurture (help develop, help grow)

hollo (encourage somebody by crying hollo)

cheer; embolden; hearten; recreate (give encouragement to)

draw out (make more sociable)

bring out (encourage to be less reserved)

goad; spur (give heart or courage to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The good news will encourage her

Antonym:

discourage (deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged)

Derivation:

encouragement (the feeling of being encouraged)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Contribute to the progress or growth of

Example:

I am promoting the use of computers in the classroom

Synonyms:

advance; boost; encourage; further; promote

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "encourage" is one way to...):

back up; support (give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "encourage"):

connive at; wink at (give one's silent approval to)

foster; further (promote the growth of)

spur (incite or stimulate)

help (contribute to the furtherance of)

carry (take further or advance)

feed (support or promote)

conduce; contribute; lead (be conducive to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They encourage him to write the letter

Derivation:

encouragement (the act of giving hope or support to someone)

Credits

 Context examples: 

"I'll read a bit to encourage you." And Miss Kate read one of the most beautiful passages in a perfectly correct but perfectly expressionless manner.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Though he often tried to bark thereafter, and the master encouraged him, he succeeded only once, and then it was not in the master's presence.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

It encourages extraordinary young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by funding initial postdoctoral Fellowship Awards, Scholar Awards and Clinical Investigator Awards.

(Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, NCI Thesaurus)

Because the maneuver is effort and volume dependent, the patient must be encouraged to perform as vigorously as clinically feasible.

(Decreased Peak Expiratory Flowrate, NCI Thesaurus)

This initiative will encourage applications that apply imaging technologies in the assessment of investigational cancer therapeutic agents.

(Development and Application of Imaging in Therapeutic Studies, NCI Thesaurus)

Facilities designated Cancer Centers generally conduct a combination of basic, population sciences, and clinical research, and are encouraged to stimulate collaborative research involving more than one field of study.

(Cancer Center, NCI Thesaurus)

After a third-degree burn, you need skin or synthetic grafts to cover exposed tissue and encourage new skin to grow.

(Burns, NIH: National Institute of General Medical Sciences)

Encouraged by these results, the researchers again increased mTOR activity but then forced mice to use the treated eye during visual stimulation by suturing shut the good eye.

(Visual activity regenerates neural connections between eye and brain, NIH)

The researchers behind the study argue that if government policy made menu labelling mandatory, it could encourage restaurants to produce healthier options, leading to public health benefits.

(Menu labelling linked to less fat and salt in food, University of Cambridge)

Research into how best to encourage individuals to take control of their health and to engage in healthy practices.

(Health Promotion Sciences, NCI Thesaurus)