embolden

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ɪmˈboʊldən/ UK /ɪmˈbəʊldən/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to give someone the courage or confidence to act

The early victory served to embolden the rebel troops.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to give someone the courage... encourage hearten inspirit fortify nerve galvanize

Opposites

discourage dishearten intimidate daunt

Word family

Derived forms emboldenedemboldener

Related forms bold boldness

Etymology

From en- ('to make') + bold (from Old English beald 'bold, brave') + -en, formed in English on the model of strengthen, harden, and similar verbs.

beald Old English *balþaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

# embolden

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ɪmˈboʊldən
**IPA (UK):** ɪmˈbəʊldən

## Meanings
1. to give someone the courage or confidence to act

## Examples
- The early victory served to embolden the rebel troops.

## Synonyms
- encourage
- hearten
- inspirit
- fortify
- nerve
- galvanize

## Antonyms
- discourage
- dishearten
- intimidate
- daunt

## Derived Forms
- emboldened
- emboldener

## Related Forms
- bold
- boldness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: beald
- Root: *balþaz

## Etymology
From en- ('to make') + bold (from Old English beald 'bold, brave') + -en, formed in English on the model of strengthen, harden, and similar verbs.

## AI Etymology
Embolden comes from en- ('to make') + bold (from Old English beald 'bold, brave') + -en, formed in English on the model of strengthen, harden, and similar verbs. The etymological trail includes Old English beald and Proto-Germanic *balþaz. As a verb, embolden means to give someone the courage or confidence to act. The same family is visible in derived forms such as emboldened and emboldener and related forms such as bold and boldness. The analysis is partly morphological, with the modern form built from the elements named in the history.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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