buoy (up)

verb

Definition of buoy (up)next
as in to inspire
to fill with courage or strength of purpose the sudden improvement in his health buoyed him up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for buoy (up)
  1. inspire
  2. encourage
  3. bear up
Verb
  • The $398 Very Sexy Shine Fantasy Bra is a separate retail version inspired by that runway piece.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Rogers encouraged attendees at the tour bus launch to inspire others to vote, too, with a story about a Detroit resident.
    — Elle Meyers, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of inspire
Verb
  • Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori encouraged joining offshoot groups to circumvent the ban, the Telegraph reported.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Meta encourages its users to name their AIs—and encourages its AIs to think like humans.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of encourage
Verb
  • It can also be used as a bench, bearing up to 355 pounds.
    — Caitlyn Martyn may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom., FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2025
  • In 1970, the average Chinese woman was expected to bear up to six children throughout her lifetime.
    — Micah McCartney, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Definition of bear up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

buoys (up)
buoy (up)
burble
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Buoy (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buoy%20%28up%29. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All