embolden

[ em-bohl-duh n ]

/ ɛmˈboʊl dən /

to make bold or bolder; hearten; encourage.

Also imbolden.

Origin of embolden

First recorded in 1495–1505; em-¹ + bold + -en¹

Spirits in Stanleyville were high, and a local 19-year-old was emboldened by independence fever.

‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis |Nina Strochlic |November 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They also emboldened the Kurdish defenders, who are lightly armed and fending off heavy armor.

America’s WTF Air War in Syria |Jamie Dettmer |October 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They will be emboldened in their tactics and will only demand more and more.

What the Archbishop of Canterbury Should Have Said About Gay Rights |Gene Robinson |April 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It began with a few Tea Party successes that emboldened and inspired Republicans to become more ideological and less pragmatic.

Democrats May Get Their Own Destructive Tea Party Movement |Dean Obeidallah |January 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Oswald had missed by one inch, and he was emboldened by how easy it had been—and how no one had ever found out.

Read This Book to Understand Lee Harvey Oswald |Joseph Finder |August 2, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Nevertheless, his successors were so emboldened by incidental utterances like the above that they went to much greater lengths.

The Basis of Morality |Arthur Schopenhauer
Emboldened by the effect of these measures, the King lost no time in pressing forward his designs against the Church.

Andrew Melville |William Morison
Her unexpectedly quiescent attitude had emboldened him to a bullying tone—something he had not lately ventured on.

The Fighting Chance |Robert W. Chambers
It emboldened him; it inspired him to speak the words that were boiling under the surface of his calm.

The Heart of Canyon Pass |Thomas K. Holmes
Lesley was emboldened by the gentle intonation to draw closer to him, and to lay an entreating hand upon his arm.

Brooke's Daughter |Adeline Sergeant

embolden

/ (ɪmˈbəʊldən) /

(tr) to encourage; make bold