hearten

verb

heart·​en ˈhär-tᵊn 

heartened; heartening ˈhär-tᵊn-iŋ 

ˈhärt-niŋ

transitive verb

: to give heart to : cheer

a victory that heartened the fans

hearteningly

ˈhär-tᵊn-iŋ-lē 

ˈhärt-niŋ-

adverb

Synonyms of hearten

• inspire
• encourage

Choose the Right Synonym for hearten

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 hearten in a Sentence

The team's victory has heartened its fans.

thinking we were hopelessly lost, we were heartened by the sight of a familiar farmhouse

Recent Examples on the Web

Cases where animals win are always heartening, especially when the animal happens to be the Ukraine’s national bird. —David Hambling, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

In an interview from her Washington office, Gomez said she was heartened by Disney's response and encouraged other broadcasters to prepare for similar fights. —ABC News, 26 May 2026

Ruhlin said she was heartened to see some of the recommendations, notably those pushing for more transparency, instituted shortly after the report was submitted, and Jonsen has voiced broad agreement with the report findings. —Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 18 May 2026

Still, the current legislative progress in California has to be heartening for the Stop Killing Games movement, which has seen its momentum in the UK stall a bit after a UK Parliament debate on game preservation last November. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1524, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hearten

• carton
• garten
• marten
• parton
• spartan
• tartan
• kindergarten

Kids Definition

hearten

verb

heart·​en ˈhärt-ᵊn 

heartened; heartening ˈhärt-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to cheer up : encourage