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
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Advertisement Ryerson, who has a large social-media following as the Glyphosate Girl, says she has been heartened by steps taken by HHS to encourage the food industry to voluntarily stop using synthetic food dyes.—Dominique Mosbergen, Time, 29 Sep. 2025 His message of unity was heartening.—Steven P. Dinkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025 He was heartened to see so many young people showing up—not just for new releases but for repertory titles, too.—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025 Spokesperson Andrew Kolvet declined to comment on how much money the organization had raised after Kirk’s death, but said he was heartened by the number of people paying tribute to Kirk.—Stephanie Murray, AZCentral.com, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hearten
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