encouragement
High (B1/B2)Neutral to Formal. Common in everyday, academic, and professional contexts.
Definition
Meaning
The action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope; words or behaviour that give someone the courage or confidence to do something.
The act or result of making something more likely to happen or develop (e.g., 'The tax break provided encouragement for investment').
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Typically uncountable, but can be countable when referring to specific instances or types ('a few words of encouragement'). Often implies an active, positive stimulus from an external source.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical differences. Spelling: 'encouragement' is standard in both. Minor potential differences in collocation frequency.
Connotations
Neutral-positive in both varieties. Slight tendency for more frequent use in motivational/self-help contexts in AmE.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in British National Corpus than in Corpus of Contemporary American English, but high in both.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
encouragement + to + infinitiveencouragement + for + nounencouragement + from + sourceVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a pat on the back (informal synonym)”
- “to give someone a morale boost”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in management and HR contexts for motivating teams ('The manager's encouragement led to higher productivity').
Academic
Common in educational psychology and pedagogy ('Teacher encouragement is crucial for student engagement').
Everyday
Frequent in parenting, sports coaching, and personal relationships ('She needed a bit of encouragement before her interview').
Technical
Limited technical use; occasionally in economics or policy ('financial encouragement for green energy').
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- His parents encouraged him to apply for the scholarship.
- We were encouraged by the latest polling numbers.
American English
- His coach encouraged him to try out for the team.
- The data is encouraging for the economy.
adverb
British English
- He nodded encouragingly as I gave my presentation.
- The doctor spoke encouragingly about the recovery process.
American English
- She smiled encouragingly at her daughter.
- He spoke encouragingly of our chances.
adjective
British English
- She gave me an encouraging smile before I went on stage.
- The early test results were highly encouraging.
American English
- He had an encouraging talk with his advisor.
- The job report was encouraging news.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- My teacher gave me encouragement.
- Thank you for your encouragement.
- Children need encouragement.
- A few words of encouragement can make a big difference.
- With a little encouragement, she started to play the piano.
- I wrote to give him some encouragement.
- Despite the setbacks, they continued with the project, fuelled by the boss's constant encouragement.
- The government provides tax breaks as an encouragement for small businesses.
- Her tacit encouragement of his ambitions was more powerful than any overt praise.
- The policy was seen as an encouragement of risky financial behaviour.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: EN(able) + COURAGE + MENT. The 'ment' turns the verb 'encourage' into the noun for the *act* or *result* of enabling courage.
Conceptual Metaphor
ENCOURAGEMENT IS FUEL / A BOOST ("Her words were the fuel he needed", "The win gave the team a boost").
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation of 'поощрение' when it means 'reward/incentive' - 'encouragement' is more about emotional support. For 'поощрение' as a prize, use 'reward'.
- Don't confuse with 'поддержка' (support) which is broader; 'encouragement' is specifically supportive words/actions aimed at boosting confidence.
Common Mistakes
- Using as a countable noun incorrectly ('He gave me many encouragements' - prefer 'many words of encouragement').
- Misspelling: 'encoragement' (missing 'u').
- Confusing with 'endorsement' (which implies official approval).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the CLOSEST synonym for 'encouragement' in the sentence: 'The grant served as an encouragement for further research.'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Primarily uncountable. It becomes countable when referring to specific acts or types (e.g., 'a few encouragements', 'various encouragements'), but 'words/pieces of encouragement' is more common.
'Encouragement' is typically external support or praise given by someone else. 'Motivation' is the internal drive or reason to do something. Encouragement can *lead to* motivation.
Rarely. It is overwhelmingly positive. In specific contexts, it can be neutral ('encouragement of debate'). It can be negative if it encourages something bad ('encouragement of harmful habits'), but the word itself doesn't carry the negativity.
Using the wrong preposition. Correct: 'encouragement TO do something', 'encouragement FROM someone', 'encouragement FOR a cause'. Incorrect: 'encouragement for doing something' (less common).