/ ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ; NAmE -ˈkɜːr-/ verb
1.
[ vn ] encourage sb (in sth) to give sb support, courage or hope :
My parents have always encouraged me in my choice of career.
We were greatly encouraged by the positive response of the public.
2.
to persuade sb to do sth by making it easier for them and making them believe it is a good thing to do :
[ vn to inf ]
Banks actively encourage people to borrow money.
[also v -ing ]
3.
encourage sth (in sb/sth) to make sth more likely to happen or develop :
[ vn ]
They claim that some computer games encourage violent behaviour in young children.
[ vn to inf ]
Music and lighting are used to encourage shoppers to buy more.
[also v -ing ]
OPP discourage
► en·cour·aging adjective [ not usually before noun ]:
This month's unemployment figures are not very encouraging.
You could try being a little more encouraging!
► en·cour·aging·ly adverb :
to smile encouragingly
The attendance was encouragingly high.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (formerly also as incourage ): from French encourager , from en- in + corage courage.