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

Both those numbers are close to 20% higher than the totals logged last season at this point, and the theater business is also heartened that for the first time since 2018, all 41 Broadway houses have been occupied this season. —Gordon Cox, Variety, 26 Mar. 2025

He’s heartened to see other college players, such as Kansas State’s Coleman Hawkins, make public their own struggles with social media. —Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025

The square erupted in applause upon hearing Francis’ words, heartened to hear his voice. —Edward Szekeres, CNN, 7 Mar. 2025

Gillespie is hopeful that more homeowners will recognize the urgency, but said he is heartened that in just the last month, almost 300 homeowners have requested evaluations of their property, including assessments of vulnerabilities. —Erika I. Ritchie, Orange County Register, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1524, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hearten

• carton
• garten
• marten
• parton
• quartan
• spartan
• tartan
• kindergarten

Kids Definition

hearten

verb

heart·​en ˈhärt-ᵊn 

heartened; heartening ˈhärt-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to cheer up : encourage