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.
