nurture
NUR-cherverbMeaning to care for and help grow
Memory hook NURSE-ture: nurse it till it grows. Granny Mae nurses the baby bird with drops of water until it is strong enough to fly. She nurtures it.
Lila nurtured the tiny seedlings with water and sunshine.
In context A good teacher does more than correct mistakes; she nurtures a student’s curiosity, feeding every question with a book, a walk or a new experiment.
Similar nourish, raise, tend, foster
Opposite neglect, ignore
From Old French norriture, “food, upbringing,” from Latin nutrire, “to nourish.”