embolden

verb

em·​bold·​en im-ˈbōl-dən 

emboldened; emboldening; emboldens

transitive verb

: 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 online conversation provides.

—Richard A. Lanham

Synonyms

• inspire
• encourage

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

Advocates can postulate that, absent the resolve of the United States to fight in Vietnam, even in a losing cause, the Soviet Union and China would have been emboldened to invade and conquer America, Western Europe and Japan, writing an epitaph for freedom. —Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 24 July 2025

Trump, who campaigned on mass deportations and border security, is emboldened by his election win and the Big, Beautiful Bill’s infusion of billions of dollars to ICE. —Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2025

This warning resonates with even greater urgency today: years of appeasement have emboldened the regime, ultimately leading to the very war the world hoped to avoid. —Tom Ridge, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 July 2025

Quinn is certainly up to the big challenge for Season 3, and his added screen time has emboldened his performances while attempting to integrate with the rest of the smash series’ cast and crew. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 18 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for embolden

• beholden
• bolden
• golden
• holden
• olden
• soldan

Kids Definition

embolden

verb

em·​bold·​en im-ˈbōl-dən 

: to make bold