embolden
UK /ɛmˈbəʊld(ə)n/ · US /ɛmˈboʊld(ə)n/ verb
Forms emboldens emboldening emboldened emboldenest emboldenedst emboldeneth imbolden
- verb To render (someone) bolder or more courageous; to encourage, to hearten.
- verb (typography) To format (text) in boldface.
Synonyms
Etymology
From bold (adjective) + em- -en (variant of en- -en (circumfix forming transitive verbs denoting an increase in, or intensification of, the quality denoted by the enclosed word)). Compare Middle English embolden, enbolden (“to make bold, encourage”) (modern English embold, enbold, imbold (obsolete)), and inboldysshen (“to embolden, encourage”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “embolden”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details