heartening 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in promising
having qualities which inspire hope a heartening visit to the hospital, where the patient was alert and sitting up

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in encouraging
making one feel good inside hearing how his students still appreciated him after all those years was heartening to the music teacher

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in favorable
pointing toward a happy outcome the accomplishments of the first day were a heartening start to our renovation of the house

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heartening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hearten
as in inspiring
to fill with courage or strength of purpose thinking we were hopelessly lost, we were heartened by the sight of a familiar farmhouse

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heartening
Adjective
Nvidia's presence in the top 10 performers is especially heartening, considering the leading maker of AI chips has been in a frustrating position all year long . — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026 That formula worked for Amazon MGM’s sci-fi dramedy Project Hail Mary earlier this year, another heartening success that was billed as a visual spectacle filmed specifically for IMAX. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026 Meanwhile, there’s more direct heartening news for beach areas in San Diego and across the state. — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2026 The Gentlemen’s Club, for all its odd and difficult convulsions, is a heartening step in a positive direction. — Mosi Reeves, VIBE.com, 22 June 2026 Cameras captured the heartening sight on the podium of Peter Bonnington, Hamilton’s former race engineer who now looks after Antonelli, standing in the middle of the two drivers. — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026 The arc of a wrongful-conviction story bends toward exoneration and release—a flawed but heartening correction of past wrongs. — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026 That has not been a heartening process. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026 The most heartening thing about this deeply disturbing moment is seeing how consistently and forcefully Minnesotans of all demographics have been pushing back. — Scott Meslow, The Verge, 19 Jan. 2026
Verb
And so, it's been heartening to see already some efforts by people like Senator Sanders, Congressman Jayapal, Congressman Casar, to start thinking seriously about what that could look like here. — ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026 While much of Funny Money is tragic, the doc also presents some heartening family moments and interesting insights into your career. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026 Library funding survives, narrowly The night proved to be heartening for local library lovers. — Noah Daly august 20, Idaho Statesman, 20 Aug. 2026 At a time when drama has come to depend on celebrity leads and commercial hype, this bounty of understated excellence is heartening. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 What’s oddly heartening is the realization that Anderson doesn’t have all the answers. — Diane Brady, Fortune, 22 June 2026 All of the art is heartening—and very much at home. — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 18 June 2026 Cases where animals win are always heartening, especially when the animal happens to be the Ukraine’s national bird. — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 Still, the current legislative progress in California has to be heartening for the Stop Killing Games movement, which has seen its momentum in the UK stall a bit after a UK Parliament debate on game preservation last November. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartening
  1. promising
  2. encouraging
  3. favorable
  4. inspiring
  5. bright
  6. comforting
  7. hopeful
  8. optimistic
Adjective
  • Tens of millions of American children recently gained access to a promising wealth-building tool, though many of their parents probably aren’t even aware of it.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2026
  • For chipmakers, the practical focus of the new center is on reducing the gap between finding a promising material and proving that it can be reliably manufactured at the scale and quality required for semiconductor production.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of promising
Adjective
  • What is encouraging about the Guardians is that all of their runs in that game came from hits that stayed in the yard.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Still, there were encouraging signs from the offense, particularly in the running game.
    — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of encouraging
Adjective
  • And because Alta sits at a higher elevation in the Wasatch, a favorable shift in the storm track could quickly turn the season around.
    — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Among his party, Fetterman is performing even worse, with 69% of Democrats having an unfavorable opinion of the senator compared to 13% who have a favorable opinion.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of favorable
Verb
  • Why Gen Z wants authentic Y2K pieces One big reason Gen Z keeps hunting old mall clothes is that the pieces come from the actual era inspiring today’s Y2K revival.
    — Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Step around, and potentially inside, awe-inspiring vehicles from the film, or come face-to-face with the Bene Gesserit, a group of priestesses who possess, among other things, the ability to bend the will of others.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of inspiring
Adjective
  • The shoe features a bright Hot Punch/Neo Pink colorway, which translates to a pink gradient fade across the sneaker’s signature Opticast upper.
    — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Micron’s bright outlook Micron delivered another blowout quarter Wednesday, but the bigger takeaway was management’s outlook on the supply-demand imbalance and the prospect for a powerful stock buyback.
    — Alexa LoMonaco,Jeff Nash, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of bright
Adjective
  • While some people say their sleep is disrupted, others find pets comforting.
    — Maggie Penman, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The plush, balm-meets-mask formula coats lips in a comforting layer that keeps moisture from escaping overnight, with hyaluronic acid, minerals, and antioxidant-rich Berry Mix Complex helping soften dry, flaky skin.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of comforting
Adjective
  • The two women are themselves influencers who previously accused former gubernatorial hopeful Tom Steyer and, earlier this week, Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman of similar infractions.
    — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Hager is hopeful many of his members will follow that endorsement.
    — Andrea Hsu, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of hopeful
Adjective
  • She’s mentored by Jae (Major Curda), a member of Ellora’s municipal Bending Brigade, and his captain Karthik (Akshay Khanna), who has a more optimistic view of the Avatar’s potential than those that blame her for ending the world.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Zhang plays optimistic puzzle master Florence, and Sula is Conrad’s estranged daughter and criminal psychologist Astrid.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of optimistic

Browse Nearby Words

heartened
heartening
heartens
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Cite this Entry

“Heartening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartening. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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