What does encourage mean?
Word: Encourage
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Encourage means to give someone the hope or confidence to try something, often with kind words or by cheering them on.
Synonyms: support, cheer, inspire
Antonyms: discourage
How do you spell encourage?
Syllables: en - cour - age
Tricky part: The middle is spelt our, as in courage, even though it sounds more like ur.
Watch out for: encurage, encorage, enkourage
Memory tip: When you encourage a friend, you hand them courage, so the word keeps courage's our.
Encourage in a sentence
Example 1: My grandmother encouraged me to enter the state drawing contest.
Example 2: The crowd's cheers encouraged the runners on the last lap.
Example 3: Good teachers encourage pupils to keep asking why.
Fun Fact
Courage comes from an old French word built on the Latin cor, meaning heart, so to encourage someone is, in a way, to put heart into them.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the prefix that completes the word:
courage
a) in
b) en
c) un
d) an
Show answer
b) en. En + courage gives the verb: to fill someone with courage.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
encourage
a) embolden
b) motivate
c) urge
d) dishearten
Show answer
d) dishearten. Motivate, urge and embolden all push someone on; dishearten takes their hope away.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) motivate
b) apreciate
c) inspire
d) encourage
Show answer
b) apreciate. Appreciate has a double p.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
euoncager
a) coverage
b) entourage
c) courage
d) encourage
Show answer
d) encourage. The jumble keeps both the e and the n that courage lacks, and has no t or v for entourage or coverage.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would encourage a nervous singer on stage?
a) people walking out
b) a broken microphone
c) loud laughter
d) a warm round of clapping
Show answer
d) a warm round of clapping
2. 'Bright sunlight encourages the plants to grow.' Here encourages means
a) stops
b) slows
c) helps
d) hides
Show answer
c) helps
