"nurtures" in the noun sense

1. raising, rearing, nurture

the properties acquired as a consequence of the way you were treated as a child

2. breeding, bringing up, fostering, fosterage, nurture, raising, rearing, upbringing

helping someone grow up to be an accepted member of the community

"they debated whether nature or nurture was more important"

"nurtures" in the verb sense

1. foster, nurture

help develop, help grow

"nurture his talents"

2. rear, raise, bring up, nurture, parent

look after a child until it is an adult

"raise a family"

"bring up children"

3. nourish, nurture, sustain

provide with nourishment

"We sustained ourselves on bread and water"

"This kind of food is not nourishing for young children"

Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)

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