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Glite Dictionary
boost in confidence

boost in confidence

1 3.4
A sudden increase in belief in yourself that makes you feel more able
  • noun
translation icon : aumento de confianza
  • Completing the challenging project gave him a significant boost in confidence for future presentations.

Examples

  • The initial effect from when I first got the dog was just a real boost in confidence and a feeling that I was going to be OK.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Obama's re-election has caused a major boost in confidence for countries like Britain and France in their desire to topple Assad.

    Blog text (25)

  • After receiving praise from her teacher, she felt a sudden boost in confidence that helped her speak up in class.

  • The team's victory provided a much-needed boost in confidence ahead of the championship game.

Synonyms

boost
vsboost in confidence
153 2.7

An increase in amount or success that helps something

refers to a sudden specific rise in self-assurance rather than a general increase
reassurance
vsboost in confidence
51 3.7

Words or actions that make someone feel less worried and more confident

causes a sudden noticeable rise in self-assurance instead of slow calming
morale booster
vsboost in confidence
2 3.6

Something that makes people feel more confident and positive

focuses on a sudden individual rise in self-assurance rather than group spirit

Antonyms

to discourage
257 3.5

To try to stop something by making people less willing to do it

to undermine confidence
4 6.0

To slowly make someone lose belief in their own ability

Surface Forms

boost in confidence singular
boosts in confidence plural

Morphology

boost + in + confidence

The meaning 'increase in self-assurance' is directly derivable from combining 'boost' (an improvement) with the prepositional relation 'in' and 'confidence' (self-assurance). This noun + in + noun composition is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Boost in confidence uses boost in the sense of a quick push or lift. Imagine someone getting a small push that makes them stand taller and feel stronger, so a 'boost in confidence' means a sudden increase in belief in yourself.