HEARTENING Synonyms: 176 Similar and Opposite Words

heartening 1 of 2

adjective

as in promising

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in favorable

pointing toward a happy outcome the accomplishments of the first day were a heartening start to our renovation of the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

The range of stories and voices was staggering — and a heartening sign for anyone who believes that the future of African cinema is now. — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 There’s a heartening respect for the intelligence of the audience in this pocket of the media. — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026 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 That has not been a heartening process. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026

Verb

It’s been heartening to see conservative and religious leaders join Democrats to speak out against Hegseth’s proposal. — Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 12 Oct. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartening

Adjective

According to the team, lab tests have already shown promising results.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Monday morning is not exactly prime time for dealership traffic, but a handful of prospective customers were in the showroom, which is a promising sign.

— Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of promising

Adjective

Niccol personally assured us that Starbucks isn’t pursuing a Chipotle acquisition, and that the encouraging trends from its latest quarter are continuing.

— Alexa LoMonaco,Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
For Hoffman, the evening’s results were encouraging but not necessarily conclusive, and the extensive use of guarantees should be taken with a grain of salt.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of encouraging

Adjective

Liu, who is not involved in the pope’s care, said that, of the different types of lung cancers, adenocarcinoma has the most favorable prognosis.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Many Laredo residents cross the border to run errands, taking advantage of lower grocery prices and a favorable exchange rate on the Mexican side of the river.

— Justin Papp, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of favorable

Adjective

And there’s something very comforting about going back to those things of our youth that were simpler than things are now — in our personal lives or the world at large.

— Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
Those were the comforting words Vision privately offered Wanda in Age of Ultron after her brother Pietro died.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of comforting

Adjective

In an industry booming with book adaptations, Roth is hopeful that The Sixth Faction could help revive interest in the dystopian genre.

— Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
With that said, the reality is today’s order is a fairly damning indictment against one-time gubernatorial hopeful Bregman and his office’s rush to judgment.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of hopeful

Adjective

Still, Musk has a track record of setting optimistic release targets for Tesla products, only to miss them by years.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Yet Europe’s founders and investors see good reason to be optimistic – as long as EU leaders take further action, fast.

— Sophie Dembinski, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of optimistic

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Style

“Heartening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartening. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of heartening

adjective

verb

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