encouragement
noun
Simple meaning
Words or actions that increase someone's confidence.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehnkurihjmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɛnˈkɝɪdʒmənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Words or actions that increase someone's confidence
The act of giving hope or support to someone
The act of encouraging
The feeling of being encouraged
Something that incites, supports, promotes, protects or advances; incentive
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Words or actions that increase someone's confidence
Used this way, encouragement is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use encouragement
- “Her teacher offered much encouragement for her artistic talent.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “encouragement” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
- Use it in a sentenceWrite your own line with “encouragement” and get instant feedback.
- Practice it in contextShort real-world questions, free, no credits.
- Review it laterSpaced review keeps the word from slipping away.
- Type itType “encouragement” from its meaning to lock in the spelling.
Want to practice typing? Try Positive Affirmation Typing →
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.