hearten

verb

heart·​en ˈhär-tᵊn 

heartened; heartening ˈhär-tᵊn-iŋ 

ˈhärt-niŋ

transitive verb

: to give heart to : cheer

hearteningly

ˈhär-tᵊn-iŋ-lē 

ˈhärt-niŋ-

adverb

Synonyms

• bear up
• buck up
• buoy (up)
• cheer (up)
• chirk (up)
• embolden
• encourage
• inspire
• inspirit
• steel

Choose the Right Synonym for hearten

encourage, inspirit, hearten, embolden mean to fill with courage or strength of purpose.

encourage suggests the raising of one's confidence especially by an external agency.

the teacher's praise encouraged the students to greater efforts

inspirit, somewhat literary, implies instilling life, energy, courage, or vigor into something.

patriots inspirited the people to resist

hearten implies the lifting of dispiritedness or despondency by an infusion of fresh courage or zeal.

a hospital patient heartened by good news

embolden implies the giving of courage sufficient to overcome timidity or reluctance.

emboldened by her first success, she tried an even more difficult climb

Examples of hearten in a Sentence

The team's victory has heartened its fans.

thinking we were hopelessly lost, we were heartened by the sight of a familiar farmhouse

Recent Examples on the Web

The group was heartened by the experience of performing at the first edition of the post-hardcore- and emo-leaning Best Friends Forever festival earlier this month in Las Vegas, where scene peers such as Cap’n Jazz and Sunny Day Real Estate were greeted like visiting royalty. —Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 26 Oct. 2024

Cramer was also heartened by Wells Fargo’s positive commentary about the broader economy. —Julie Coleman, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024

That’s why patients like Bauder – who has created an online community to share her experience of living with allergies – are heartened by the attention being put on this condition. —Natallie Rocha, The Mercury News, 11 Oct. 2024

Despite the current hostile climate for the trans community, we were also heartened to celebrate two openly trans leaders who made our inaugural ranking. —Sydney Lake, Fortune Europe, 18 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1524, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hearten

verb

heart·​en ˈhärt-ᵊn 

heartened; heartening ˈhärt-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to cheer up : encourage