embolden

verb

em·​bold·​en im-ˈbōl-dən 

emboldened; emboldening; emboldens

transitive verb

: to impart boldness or courage to : to instill with boldness, courage, or resolution enough to overcome timidity or misgiving

Great leaders embolden the rest of us to rise to our highest potentialities, to be active, insistent and resolute in affirming our own sense of things.

—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

… being near her twin did seem to embolden her, to loosen her tongue.

—John Updike

… other voices too timid to speak in class are often emboldened by the different and more protected role an online conversation provides.

—Richard A. Lanham

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for embolden

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 embolden in a Sentence

his poor showing in his first swim meet just emboldened him to train even harder

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump will be emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling last summer that granted U.S. presidents potential immunity from some criminal prosecution for official acts. —Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 6 Nov. 2024

In Legislative District 16 in central Arizona, Democrats were emboldened by the narrow 3.5% edge Republicans had after legislative redistricting. —Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024

Some wonder how that experience might affect his dealings with the LAPD’s equally powerful union, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which has been emboldened by Bass’ strong public support in recent months. —Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024

Katie wants to rid the house of it once and for all; Micah wants to videotape it (which only seems to embolden the angry spirit). —Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

embolden

verb

em·​bold·​en im-ˈbōl-dən 

: to make bold