encouraging

1 having qualities which inspire hope encouraging signs that the economy is improving Synonyms auspicious, bright, hopeful, fair, golden, heartening, likely, optimistic, promising, propitious, roseate, rose-colored, rosy, upbeatRelated Words cheering, comforting, reassuring, soothing; assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating; beamish, bullish, eupeptic; favorable, goodNear Antonyms cheerless, comfortless; doubtful, dubious, uncertain; bearish, grim, negative, unfavorable; funereal, glum, gray (also grey), miserable, wretchedAntonyms bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious

2 making one feel good inside the encouraging story of a young girl who overcame great social and physical obstacles to become an outstanding athlete Synonyms cheering, comforting, heartwarming, fulfilling, gladdening, gratifying, heartening, rewarding, satisfyingRelated Words affecting, inspiring, inspiriting, moving, poignant, stirring, touching; edifying, elevating, uplifting; sympathetic, tender; kind, kindly, loving, warm; animating, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, invigorating, rousing, stimulating, thrilling; pleasing, pleasurable, welcomingNear Antonyms cheerless, disappointing, disgruntling, displeasing, dissatisfying, heartbreaking, heartrending, saddening; discomforting, disconcerting, dismaying, distressing, disturbing, upsetting; cold, unfeeling, unfriendly, unkind, unloving, unpleasantAntonyms demoralizing, depressing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting

3 pointing toward a happy outcome we're off to an encouraging start on this project Synonyms auspicious, bright, favorable, golden, heartening, hopeful, promising, propitiousRelated Words fortunate, fortuitous, happy, lucky, providential; advantageous, beneficial, profitable, prosperous, salutaryNear Antonyms unfortunate, unhappy, unlucky; calamitous, catastrophic, disastrous, fatal, ruinous; baleful, dark, dire, direful, doomy, foreboding, gloomy, ill, ill-boding, menacing, minatory, ominous, portentous, sinister, threateningAntonyms dim, discouraging, disheartening, futureless, hopeless, inauspicious, unfavorable, unpromising, unpropitious