embolden means to render (someone) bolder or more courageous; to encourage, to hearten. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
embolden is pronounced /ɛmˈbəʊld(ə)n/.
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”).
verb
- To render (someone) bolder or more courageous; to encourage, to hearten.“Steel your thoughts, ſharp your reſolue, imboldẽ your spirit, graſp your ſvvords; alarum miſchief, & vvith an vndãted brovv, out ſcout the grim oppoſition of most menacing perill.”
- To format (text) in boldface.“This note introduces several additional features of LATEX: […] ▪ The use of text style commands, including the \emph command to emphasize text, the \textbf command to embolden text, and the \texttt command to produce typewriter style text.”