Heartening — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb adjective /ˈhär-tᵊn/ heart·en

Meaning & Definition of Heartening

Heartening (verb)

  1. to give heart to, cheer

Heartening (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having qualities which inspire hope

    "a heartening visit to the hospital, where the patient was alert and sitting up"

    similar: auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, hopeful, likely, optimistic, promising, propitious, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, upbeat
    related: cheering, comforting, reassuring, soothing, assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating, beamish, bullish, eupeptic, favorable, good
    opposite: bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious
    near: cheerless, comfortless, doubtful, dubious, uncertain, bearish, grim, negative, unfavorable, funereal, glum, gray, miserable, wretched

  2. making one feel good inside

    "hearing how his students still appreciated him after all those years was heartening to the music teacher"

    similar: cheering, comforting, encouraging, fulfilling, gladdening, gratifying, heartwarming, rewarding, satisfying
    related: affecting, inspiring, inspiriting, moving, poignant, stirring, touching, edifying, elevating, uplifting, sympathetic, tender, kind, kindly, loving, warm, animating, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, invigorating, rousing, stimulating, thrilling, pleasing, pleasurable, welcoming
    opposite: demoralizing, depressing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting
    near: cheerless, disappointing, disgruntling, displeasing, dissatisfying, heartbreaking, heartrending, saddening, discomforting, disconcerting, dismaying, distressing, disturbing, upsetting, cold, unfeeling, unfriendly, unkind, unloving, unpleasant

  3. pointing toward a happy outcome

    "the accomplishments of the first day were a heartening start to our renovation of the house"

    similar: auspicious, bright, encouraging, favorable, golden, hopeful, promising, propitious
    related: fortunate, fortuitous, happy, lucky, providential, advantageous, beneficial, profitable, prosperous, salutary
    opposite: dim, discouraging, disheartening, futureless, hopeless, inauspicious, unfavorable, unpromising, unpropitious
    near: unfortunate, unhappy, unlucky, calamitous, catastrophic, disastrous, fatal, ruinous, baleful, dark, dire, direful, doomy, foreboding, gloomy, ill, ill-boding, menacing, minatory, ominous, portentous, sinister, threatening

Heartening (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to fill with courage or strength of purpose

    "thinking we were hopelessly lost, we were heartened by the sight of a familiar farmhouse"

    similar: bearing up, bucking up, buoying (up), cheering (up), chirking (up), emboldening, encouraging, inspiring, inspiriting, steeling
    related: animating, enlivening, invigorating, enforcing, fortifying, reinforcing, strengthening, assuring, reassuring, boosting, energizing, exciting, galvanizing, provoking, quickening, rallying, stimulating, stirring
    opposite: daunting, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting
    near: demoralizing, depressing, saddening, debilitating, enfeebling, hamstringing, undermining, weakening, intimidating, psyching (out)

Related Entry: Hearten (verb)

Hearten is a different word from Heartening. The synonyms below are for hearten, not for heartening.

  1. to fill with courage or strength of purpose

    "thinking we were hopelessly lost, we were heartened by the sight of a familiar farmhouse"

    similar: bear up, buck up, buoy (up), cheer (up), chirk (up), embolden, encourage, inspire, inspirit, steel
    related: animate, enliven, invigorate, enforce, fortify, reinforce, strengthen, assure, reassure, boost, energize, excite, galvanize, provoke, quicken, rally, stimulate, stir
    opposite: daunt, discourage, dishearten, dispirit
    near: demoralize, depress, sadden, debilitate, enfeeble, hamstring, undermine, weaken, intimidate, psych (out)

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Heartening

The most common words with a similar meaning to Heartening:

auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, hopeful, likely, optimistic, promising, propitious, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, upbeat, cheering, comforting, fulfilling, gladdening, gratifying, heartwarming, rewarding, satisfying, favorable, bearing up, bucking up, buoying (up), cheering (up), chirking (up), emboldening, inspiring, inspiriting, steeling

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Heartening

Words with the opposite meaning of Heartening:

bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious, demoralizing, dispiriting, dim, futureless, unfavorable, daunting

Related Words for Heartening

reassuring, soothing, assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating, beamish, bullish, eupeptic, good, affecting, moving, poignant, stirring, touching, edifying, elevating, uplifting, sympathetic, tender, kind, kindly, loving, warm, animating, enlivening, exciting

Near Antonyms of Heartening

cheerless, comfortless, doubtful, dubious, uncertain, bearish, grim, negative, funereal, glum, gray, miserable, wretched, disappointing, disgruntling, displeasing, dissatisfying, heartbreaking, heartrending, saddening, discomforting, disconcerting, dismaying, distressing, disturbing, upsetting, cold, unfeeling, unfriendly, unkind

Word Forms of Heartening

Inflections: heartened

Derived words: hearteningly (adverb)

Origin & Etymology of Heartening

First known use: 1524

Frequently Asked Questions about Heartening

What does "Heartening" mean?

"Heartening" means to give heart to, cheer. As an a verb and an adjective, it is defined as: to give heart to, cheer. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Heartening"?

Other words for "Heartening" include auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, hopeful, likely and optimistic. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Heartening" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Heartening"?

There are 91 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Heartening". Common alternatives include auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, hopeful, likely, optimistic, promising and propitious.

What is the opposite of "Heartening"?

Antonyms of "Heartening" include bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal and downbeat. Near antonyms include cheerless, comfortless, doubtful and dubious.

How do you use "Heartening" in a sentence?

Examples of "Heartening" in a sentence: "a heartening visit to the hospital, where the patient was alert and sitting up"; "hearing how his students still appreciated him after all those years was heartening to the music teacher"; "the accomplishments of the first day were a heartening start to our renovation of the house".

Is "Heartening" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Heartening" can be used as a verb and an adjective, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Heartening"?

"Heartening" is pronounced /ˈhär-tᵊn/ and divided into syllables as heart·en.

What is the origin of the word "Heartening"?

First known use: 1524.