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

The two-hour special, which aired on Juneteenth, tells Owens’ story via the lens of that fateful Olympic games, which the athlete attended after he was emboldened by his father to go despite calls for boycotts on the basis of Hitler’s increasing fascist and anti-semitic policies. —Madeleine Janz, Peoplemag, 20 June 2024

Hindu nationalists, emboldened by Modi’s politics, have even erected shrines to Gandhi’s assassin, the Hindutva militant Nathuram Godse. —Maya Jasanoff, The New Yorker, 19 June 2024

Steve McQueen’s vision of 19th-century slavery, emboldened by first-rate performances by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Solomon Northup), Lupita N’yongo (Patsey), and Micheal Fassbender (Edwin Epps) allowed audiences to witness the degradation of humanity that couples institutionalized oppression. —Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 19 June 2024

But China does not want to see North Korea emboldened in its nuclear ambitions. —Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post, 18 June 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