Meanings
comparative more encouraging · superlative most encouraging
- Giving courage, confidence or hope; auspicious.
There are some encouraging signs of economic recovery.
1 more example
Although there is no cure for the disease yet, the research results are encouraging.
Synonyms: promising
- Supporting by giving encouragement: positively.
Your encouraging words inspired me to persevere.
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of encourage
plural encouragings
- encouragement
[…] the thousand little ties of sympathy and mutual hopes and fears, comfortings and encouragings.
1853, The Living Age, volume 37, page 58
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveGiving courage, confidence or hope; auspicious.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivegiving courage or confidence or hope
adjectivefurnishing support and encouragement
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian окуража́ващ, насърчителен
- окуража́ващ (okuražávašt)giving courage, confidence or hope
- насърчителен (nasărčitelen)supporting by giving encouragement
Catalan encoratjador, encoratjador
- encoratjadorgiving courage, confidence or hope
- encoratjadorsupporting by giving encouragement
Finnish rohkaiseva, lupaava
- rohkaisevagiving courage, confidence or hope
- lupaavagiving courage, confidence or hope
- rohkaisevasupporting by giving encouragement
German ermutigend
- ermutigendgiving courage, confidence or hope
Greek παροτρυντικός
- παροτρυντικός (parotryntikós)giving courage, confidence or hope
Hungarian bátorító
- bátorítógiving courage, confidence or hope
Italian incoraggiante, rassicurante
- incoraggiantegiving courage, confidence or hope
- rassicurantegiving courage, confidence or hope
Latin hortāns, exhortāns
- hortānsgiving courage, confidence or hope
- exhortānsgiving courage, confidence or hope
Lithuanian padrąsinantis, padrąsinanti
- padrąsinantisgiving courage, confidence or hope
- padrąsinantigiving courage, confidence or hope
Russian обнадёживающий, ободри́тельный
- обнадёживающий (obnadjóživajuščij)giving courage, confidence or hope
- ободри́тельный (obodrítelʹnyj)giving courage, confidence or hope
- ободря́ющий (obodrjájuščij)giving courage, confidence or hope
- ободря́ющий (obodrjájuščij)supporting by giving encouragement
- подба́дривающий (podbádrivajuščij)supporting by giving encouragement
Scottish Gaelic misneachail, misneachail
- misneachailgiving courage, confidence or hope
- misneachailsupporting by giving encouragement
Slovak povzbudzujúci, povzbudzujúci
- povzbudzujúcigiving courage, confidence or hope
- povzbudzujúcisupporting by giving encouragement
Spanish alentador, esperanzador
- alentadorgiving courage, confidence or hope
- esperanzadorgiving courage, confidence or hope
- halagüeñogiving courage, confidence or hope
Swedish uppmuntrande
- uppmuntrandesupporting by giving encouragement
Ukrainian обнаді́йливий, підбадьо́рливий
- обнаді́йливий (obnadíjlyvyj)giving courage, confidence or hope
- підбадьо́рливий (pidbadʹórlyvyj)supporting by giving encouragement
Cite this entry
encouraging. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encouraging
“encouraging.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encouraging. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “encouraging,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encouraging.
Source: encouraging on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.