overencourage

verb

over·​en·​cour·​age ˌō-vər-in-ˈkər-ij How to pronounce overencourage (audio)
-ˈkə-rij,
-en-
overencouraged; overencouraging

transitive verb

: to encourage (someone or something) to an extreme or excessive degree
At this point it is critical for teachers not to overencourage the students or to simplify the task. Students must discover on their own that if they start to think, they can in fact solve the task.Stanley Pogrow and Gary Londer
The favorable climate for business start-ups encourages new technologies and, indeed, overencouraged them in the late 1990s.Hans-Peter Blossfeld et al.

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overencourage was in 1768

Dictionary Entries Near overencourage

Cite this Entry

“Overencourage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overencourage. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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