encouragés

Encouragés is the masculine plural form of the past participle encouragé, used as an adjective or in compound tenses of the verb encourager. As an adjective, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies: masculine plural encouragés, feminine plural encouragées. In the perfect tenses it appears in the passive or in passive-like constructions, for example ils ont été encouragés (they were encouraged).

Grammar and usage

Encouragés can describe people who have received encouragement or support, or who have been spurred to act. It commonly appears in phrases such as des élèves encouragés par leurs professeurs (students encouraged by their teachers) or des joueurs encouragés par le public (players encouraged by the crowd). The form also serves as part of passive voice constructions: ils ont été encouragés à poursuivre leurs études. The feminine form is encouragée (singular) and encouragées (plural); the plural forms are used for both masculine and mixed-gender groups.

Etymology

The word derives from the French verb encourager, which means to give courage, to hearten, or to spur on. It combines en- (to put into, to provide) with courage (courage, heart), itself from Latin cor, cordis (heart). The past participle encouragé shares its sense of imparting confidence or motivation.

Context and nuance

Encouragés conveys a sense of positive reinforcement or motivating support rather than mere permission. It can reflect a temporary state (effect of encouragement) or a characteristic of a group that has been inspired or emboldened. In contrast, encourager as a noun refers to a person who encourages, and encouragement refers to the act or process itself.

See also

Encourager, encouragement, encourage, encouraged (as English cognates).