nourish

nourish — verb

1. To give a person, animal, or plant the food and important substances it needs in

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

To give a person, animal, or plant the food and important substances it needs in order to grow properly and stay healthy.

Example

A mother's milk naturally nourishes a baby for the first six months of life.

transitive: milk nourishes baby (literal feeding)

Théo nourishes his tomato plants with homemade compost every two weeks.

collocation: nourish [plant] with [substance]

Common collocations
  • nourish the body
  • nourish the skin
  • nourish the soil
  • nourish plants
  • nourish hair
  • nourish with [food/substance]
  • well nourished
  • properly nourished
Synonyms
  • feed

    more general — any act of giving food, not necessarily with health in mind

  • nurture

    broader — includes emotional care and support, not just physical nutrition

  • sustain

    focuses on keeping alive at a basic level rather than promoting optimal health

Antonyms
  • starve

    opposite — to deprive of food entirely

Grammar Patterns

nourish + object

Usage Note

Often used with body-related objects (skin, hair, body) in health and beauty contexts. The passive form 'be nourished by' is common in scientific and agricultural writing.

Common Mistakes

She fed her houseplants with liquid fertiliser.
She nourished her houseplants with liquid fertiliser.
'feed' can mean simply giving food; 'nourish' emphasises providing the right substances for healthy growth.
The chef nourished the guests with a large meal.
The chef fed the guests a large meal.
'nourish' implies sustained health benefits, not a single act of eating.

2. To help something abstract — such as an emotion, ambition, or idea — develop and

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

To help something abstract — such as an emotion, ambition, or idea — develop and become stronger by giving it ongoing attention and support.

Example

Good teachers nourish a child's natural curiosity rather than suppressing it.

transitive + abstract object: nourish curiosity / interest

Rin nourished the hope of one day opening her own bookshop in the old town.

collocation: nourish a hope / a dream

Common collocations
  • nourish a hope
  • nourish a dream
  • nourish a feeling
  • nourish a belief
  • nourish ambition
  • nourish curiosity
  • nourish trust
  • nourish a culture of [something]
Synonyms
  • cultivate

    emphasises deliberate, ongoing effort to develop something

  • foster

    focuses on creating the right conditions for growth

  • encourage

    more general and less formal; does not imply sustained support

Antonyms
  • suppress

    to stop a feeling or idea from growing or being expressed

Grammar Patterns

nourish + abstract noun

Usage Note

The object must be an abstract noun — a feeling (hope, love, curiosity), a belief (faith, trust), or a plan (ambition, dream). Cannot be used with concrete objects in this figurative sense.

Common Mistakes

The manager nourished the team's new software.
The manager nourished the team's creative thinking.
'nourish' in this sense only works with abstract things, not physical objects or products.
She nourished his anger for years.
She nourished her dream of travelling for years.
'nourish' has a positive connotation; negative feelings like anger sound unnatural with this word.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words relate to giving something what it needs, but they differ in scope and emphasis. 'Feed' is the most basic — it simply means to supply food or fuel, with no guarantee of health or growth (you can feed someone junk food). 'Nourish' goes further: it implies providing the right kind of substances for proper growth and health, whether for a body, a plant, or the skin. 'Nurture' extends beyond the physical into emotional and developmental care — you nurture a child's talent or a relationship, but you nourish a plant with fertiliser. 'Sustain' is the minimum — keeping something alive at a basic level without necessarily helping it thrive. For example: 'The soup sustained the hikers through the cold night, but only a hot meal with vegetables could truly nourish them.'

feed ↗nurture ↗sustain ↗nourish ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • nourishment
  • nutrient
  • malnutrition
  • undernourishment

Adverbs

  • well nourished
  • properly nourished
  • poorly nourished
  • adequately nourished

Phrases

  • nourish the body and soul
  • nourish the mind

Prepositions

  • nourish with [food, substance]
  • nourish by [source]
  • nourish through [method]

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Middle English 'norischen', via Old French 'norrir', from Latin 'nutrire' — meaning to feed, suckle, or bring up. The figurative sense (nourishing a feeling or idea) developed in the 16th century, extending the idea of physical feeding to the 'feeding' of emotions, thoughts, or plans.