"encourages" in the verb sense
1. promote, advance, boost, further, encourage
contribute to the progress or growth of
"I am promoting the use of computers in the classroom"
2. encourage
inspire with confidence give hope or courage to
3. encourage
spur on
"His financial success encouraged him to look for a wife"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
View WordNet® License