hearten

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈhɑɹtn̩/ UK /ˈhɑːtn̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #173934

Meanings

1

verb
to make someone feel more encouraged, hopeful, or confident

The steady rise in donations heartened the exhausted volunteers.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make someone feel more... encourage cheer reassure embolden uplift

Opposites

dishearten discourage demoralize depress

Word family

Forms heartening

Derived forms heartenedheartening

Related forms heart encouragement cheer dishearten

Etymology

Formed from heart + the verb-forming suffix -en, literally "to give heart to." Heart has long represented courage and spirit as well as the bodily organ, which gave hearten its sense of restoring confidence or hope.

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

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