hearten

verb

heart·​en ˈhär-tᵊn 

heartened; heartening ˈhär-tᵊn-iŋ 

ˈhärt-niŋ

transitive verb

: to give heart to : cheer

hearteningly

ˈhär-tᵊn-iŋ-lē 

ˈhärt-niŋ-

adverb

Synonyms

• bear up
• buck up
• buoy (up)
• cheer (up)
• chirk (up)
• embolden
• encourage
• inspire
• inspirit
• steel

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

Emma was heartened to spot a Nando’s, a popular South African chicken franchise, just down the road. —Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2024

O’Leary said he’s also heartened by seeing the work that independent theaters are doing to revitalize their communities, such as New Canaan, Connecticut’s Playhouse Theater. —Pat Saperstein, Variety, 19 Sep. 2024

Carmen Zavala, 50, originally from Michoacan, Mexico, tells Axios she's been heartened to see how much the city has changed since Ayon has become mayor. —Russell Contreras, Axios, 1 Aug. 2024

He’s also heartened that another team reported something very similar just 3 weeks later. —Byjennifer Couzin-Frankel, science.org, 21 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1524, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hearten

verb

heart·​en ˈhärt-ᵊn 

heartened; heartening ˈhärt-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to cheer up : encourage