encourage

Universal Words verb 1 [VN] ~ 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: [VNtoinf] Banks actively encourage people to borrow money. [also V-ing] 3 ~ 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. * [VNtoinf] Music and lighting are used to encourage shoppers to buy more. [also V-ing] OPPDISCOURAGE encouraging adjective [notusuallybeforenoun]: This month's unemployment figures are not very encouraging. * You could try being a little more encouraging! encouragingly adverb: to smile / nod encouragingly * The attendance was encouragingly high.