Encouraging

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Encouraging \En*cour"a*ging\, a.
     Furnishing ground to hope; inspiriting; favoring. --
     {En*cour"a*ging*ly}, adv.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Encourage \En*cour"age\ (?; 48), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
     {Encouraged} (?; 48); p. pr. & vb. n. {Encouraging}.] [F.
     encourager; pref. en- (L. in) + courage courage. See
     {Courage}.]
     To give courage to; to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope;
     to raise, or to increase, the confidence of; to animate;
     enhearten; to incite; to help forward; -- the opposite of
     {discourage}.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           David encouraged himself in the Lord.    --1 Sam. xxx.
                                                    6.
  
     Syn: To embolden; inspirit; animate; enhearten; hearten;
          incite; cheer; urge; impel; stimulate; instigate;
          countenance; comfort; promote; advance; forward;
          strengthen.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  encouraging
       adj 1: giving courage or confidence or hope; "encouraging advances
              in medical research" [ant: {discouraging}]
       2: furnishing support and encouragement; "the anxious child
          needs supporting and accepting treatment from the teacher"
          [syn: {supporting}]
       3: tending to favor or bring good luck; "miracles are
          auspicious accidents"; "encouraging omens"; "a favorable
          time to ask for a raise"; "lucky stars"; "a prosperous
          moment to make a decision" [syn: {auspicious}, {favorable},
           {favourable}, {lucky}, {prosperous}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  57 Moby Thesaurus words for "encouraging":
     alluring, animating, assuring, auspicious, bright with promise,
     challenging, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, condolatory,
     condolent, condoling, consolatory, consoling, couleur de rose,
     energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, favorable,
     full of promise, galvanic, galvanizing, glad, gladdening,
     heart-warming, heartening, hospitable, inspiring, inspiriting,
     invigorating, inviting, joyful, likely, looking up,
     of good comfort, of promise, piquant, pregnant of good, promising,
     prompting, propitious, provocative, provoking, reassuring,
     relieving, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, rousing, stimulant,
     stimulating, stimulative, stirring, supportive, sympathetic