WordWeb Online

1. Giving courage or confidence or hope
   "encouraging advances in medical research"
    
2. Furnishing support and encouragement
   - supporting

1. Contribute to the progress or growth of
   - promote, advance, boost, further
    
2. Inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to
    
3. Spur on
   "His financial success encouraged him to look for a wife"

See also: encouragement, encouragingly, exhortative, exhortatory, heartening, helpful, hopeful, hortative, hortatory, inspiriting, promotive, rallying, reassuring, supportive

Type of: animate, back up, cause, enliven, exalt, get, have, induce, inspire, invigorate, make, stimulate, support

Antonym: discourage, discouraging