reinforcement
noun
Simple meaning
The process whereby a behavior with desirable consequences comes to be repeated.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
reeihnfawrsmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹiɪnˈfɔɹsmənt
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
uncountable
The act, process, or state of reinforcing or being reinforced.
uncountablebehavioral psychology
The process whereby a behavior with desirable consequences comes to be repeated.
countable
A thing that reinforces.
A small round white sticker placed around a punched hole in a piece of paper to prevent the binder's rings from tearing through the paper.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act, process, or state of reinforcing or being reinforced.
Used this way, reinforcement 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
Nearby words
- reenforcement , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use reinforcement
- “His gestures provided eloquent reinforcement for his complaints.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: act or process or or state of reinforcing
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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.