embolden

verb

em·bold·en | \ im-ˈbōl-dən

emboldened; emboldening; emboldens

Definition of embolden

: to impart boldness or courage to : to instill with boldness, courage, or resolution enough to overcome timidity or misgiving Great leaders embolden the rest of us to rise to our highest potentialities, to be active, insistent and resolute in affirming our own sense of things.— Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. … being near her twin did seem to embolden her, to loosen her tongue.— John Updike … other voices too timid to speak in class are often emboldened by the different and more protected role an on-line conversation provides.— Richard A. Lanham

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about embolden

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Choose the Right Synonym for embolden

encourage, inspirit, hearten, embolden mean to fill with courage or strength of purpose. encourage suggests the raising of one's confidence especially by an external agency. the teacher's praise encouraged the students to greater efforts inspirit, somewhat literary, implies instilling life, energy, courage, or vigor into something. patriots inspirited the people to resist hearten implies the lifting of dispiritedness or despondency by an infusion of fresh courage or zeal. a hospital patient heartened by good news embolden implies the giving of courage sufficient to overcome timidity or reluctance. emboldened by her first success, she tried an even more difficult climb

Examples of embolden in a Sentence

his poor showing in his first swim meet just emboldened him to train even harder

Recent Examples on the Web

Rittl says loggers, farmers and miners emboldened by Bolsonaro's pro-business stance have jumped on the opportunity, taking advantage of reduced controls and less oversight to seize control of a growing area of land within the Amazon forest. — Vasco Cotovio, CNN, "Amazon destruction accelerates 60% to one and a half soccer fields every minute," 2 July 2019 Missouri is among several conservative states, emboldened by new conservative justices on the Supreme Court, to pass new restrictions on abortions in the hope that the high court will eventually overturn Roe v. Wade. — Washington Post, "Missouri’s only abortion clinic continues fight over license," 25 June 2019 What followed was social unrest that led to a civil war throughout the 1980s and into the ’90s in which the Salvadoran military, emboldened by its success in Honduras, brutally put down. — Kevin Baxter, latimes.com, "When soccer teams from El Salvador and Honduras met 50 years ago, it really was a war," 24 June 2019 Missouri is among several conservative states, emboldened by new conservative justices on the Supreme Court, to pass new restrictions on abortions in the hope that the high court will eventually overturn Roe v. Wade. — CBS News, "Judge rules Missouri's lone abortion clinic can continue to perform abortions, for now," 24 June 2019 Missouri is among several conservative states, emboldened by new conservative justices on the Supreme Court, to pass new restrictions on abortions. — Jim Salter, The Denver Post, "Missouri denies license renewal for lone abortion clinic," 21 June 2019 Harbaugh undoubtedly plans to build around the ground threat with the idea emboldened by the offensive coordinator choice of Greg Roman, who replaced Marty Mornhinweg. — Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, "Opinion: Lamar Jackson is still make-or-break gamble at QB for Ravens," 13 June 2019 The 1969 Stonewall riots emboldened LGBTQ people nationwide to fight for their rights. — Susan Dunne, courant.com, "‘Be Seen’: Portraits reclaiming the gay experience at Wadsworth Atheneum," 26 June 2019 One concern among opponents of the Trump Administration was that by ramping up sanctions and being more aggressive, the United States would only embolden Iranian hard-liners. — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, "The Dangers of Trump’s Approach to Iran," 19 June 2019

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