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ENCOURAGEMENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of giving hope or support to someone
Synonyms:
boost; encouragement
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("encouragement" is a kind of...):
aid; assist; assistance; help (the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "encouragement"):
morale booster; morale building (anything that serves to increase morale)
Derivation:
encourage (contribute to the progress or growth of)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The expression of approval and support
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("encouragement" is a kind of...):
approval; commendation (a message expressing a favorable opinion)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "encouragement"):
abetment; abettal; instigation (the verbal act of urging on)
cheering; shouting (encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators)
advancement; furtherance; promotion (encouragement of the progress or growth or acceptance of something)
fosterage; fostering (encouragement; aiding the development of something)
goad; goading; prod; prodding; spur; spurring; urging (a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something)
incitement; provocation (needed encouragement)
vote of confidence (an expression of approval and encouragement)
Antonym:
discouragement (the expression of opposition and disapproval)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The feeling of being encouraged
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("encouragement" is a kind of...):
hope (the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled)
Derivation:
encourage (inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to)
Context examples:
She had called certain portions of his work beautiful, and that was the first encouragement he had ever received from any one.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
He lashed the horses unmercifully with his long whip, and with wild cries of encouragement urged them on to further exertions.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Colonel Brandon, unfortunately for himself, had no such encouragement to think only of Marianne, and in conversing with Elinor he found the greatest consolation for the indifference of her sister.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
The encouragement Buck gave the rebels led them into all kinds of petty misdemeanors.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
Round and round the decks they went, Mugridge sick with fear, the sailors hallooing and shouting directions to one another, and the hunters bellowing encouragement and laughter.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Already the others had begun to lend an ear to this encouragement and were coming a little to themselves, when the same voice broke out again—not this time singing, but in a faint distant hail that echoed yet fainter among the clefts of the Spy-glass.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Come, come, my dear lady, said he, you speak vastly beyond my merits; upon which encouragement she started again in a theatrical apostrophe to Britain’s darling and Neptune’s eldest son, which he endured with the same signs of gratitude and pleasure.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
And it was but half an hour before he left Bath that you gave him the most positive encouragement.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
Depend upon it he had encouragement.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
I know he spoke to you yesterday, and (as far as I understand) received as much encouragement to proceed as a well-judging young woman could permit herself to give.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
