nurture 1 of 2

verb

Definition of nurturenext
1
as in to promote
to help the growth or development of wanted to find the art school that would best nurture his artistic talent

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to educate
to provide (someone) with moral or spiritual understanding she feels that her lifelong practice of reading the Bible daily has nurtured her in ways she cannot describe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to sustain
to supply with nourishment nurtured their children through the long winters with home-cooked soup

Synonyms & Similar Words

nurture

2 of 2

noun

as in nourishment

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nurture
Verb
Advertisement A little emotions education goes a long way towards nurturing your well-being. — Juli Fraga, Time, 29 Oct. 2026 Frémaux emphasized that France’s film funding system not only supports contemporary production but also helps preserve cinema’s history and nurture future generations of film lovers. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026
Noun
Not talking down to them, and tackling real subject matter that’s universal, about family and relationships and nature versus nurture and grief. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026 Positioning, lead generation, nurture and conversion are all working parts that run on their own. — Angelica Kopec, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for nurture
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nurture
  1. promote
  2. educate
  3. sustain
  4. nourishment
  5. cultivate
  6. inspire
  7. sustenance
  8. encourage
Verb
  • Popular iHeartRadio hosts and other social media personalities have been promoting them online as well.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Mendoza had his chance to run the first-team offense Wednesday for the first time since he was promoted.
    — Mark Anderson, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of promote
Verb
  • But the lack of accurate data available to decision-makers to educate themselves was itself what provided the opportunity for VICE to flourish.
    — Sam Peskin, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Even when Republicans and Democrats disagree on the answers, congressional hearings can educate lawmakers, build public support for solutions and lay the groundwork for future congressional action.
    — Thomas Kahn, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of educate
Verb
  • One unit sustained extensive damage, while the other two units had minor damage, fire officials said.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Frankly, these stakes aren’t high enough to sustain a two-act show, and the dramatic moments feel forced at times.
    — Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of sustain
Noun
  • Spring-summer, for instance, is more about oxidative stress, while fall-winter brings the need for deep nourishment, cellular regeneration and strengthening the skin barrier.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Next is nourishment, which is about making sure that the space created by the loss of your person isn’t only filled with pain.
    — Naomi Barr, Flow Space, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of nourishment
Verb
  • In other cases the cells may be cultivated in a bioreactor, in which they are suspended and kept in motion; constant spinning encourages the cells to self-organize into multilayered, three-dimensional structures.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Her musical influences, similarly incongruous on their face, stem from an era of digital music post-iTunes and pre-slop when casual internet explorers could cultivate a sprawling taste profile for free.
    — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of cultivate
Verb
  • Researchers at Colorado State University have developed flexible robots inspired by elephant trunks that can bend, grip objects, and connect with other machines.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Its latest name is a literary wink to Walt Whitman, who spent three months in New Orleans in 1848, a visit that helped inspire Leaves of Grass.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of inspire
Noun
  • Poetry like Rukeyser’s and others by Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden or the essays by James Baldwin that Alexander parses in the book, provide sustenance for the journey.
    — Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Much food was consumed by starving players looking for a little sustenance halfway through the game.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of sustenance
Verb
  • Its Flex Events initiative uses customer communications to encourage temporary reductions in electricity consumption.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The Sagittarius Moon encourages a wider view of daily responsibilities.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of encourage

Browse Nearby Words

nurturances
nurture
nurtured
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Nurture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nurture. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All