embolden

to fill with courage or strength of purpose his poor showing in his first swim meet just emboldened him to train even harder Synonyms bear up, buck up, buoy (up), cheer (up), chirk (up), encourage, hearten, inspire, inspirit, steelRelated Words animate, enliven, invigorate; enforce, fortify, reinforce (also reenforce), strengthen; assure, reassure; boost, energize, excite, galvanize, provoke, quicken, rally, stimulate, stirNear Antonyms demoralize, depress, sadden; debilitate, enfeeble, hamstring, undermine, weaken; intimidate, psych (out)Antonyms daunt, discourage, dishearten, dispirit