imbrue

[ im-broo ]
See synonyms for: imbrueimbruedimbruing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),im·brued, im·bru·ing.
  1. to stain: He refused to imbrue his hands with the blood of more killing.

  2. to impregnate or imbue (usually followed by with or in): They are imbrued with the follies of youth.

Origin of imbrue

1
1400–50; late Middle English enbrewen<Middle French embreuver to cause to drink in, soak, drench <Vulgar Latin *imbiberāre, derivative of Latin imbibere to imbibe

Other words from imbrue

  • im·brue·ment, noun

Words that may be confused with imbrue

Words Nearby imbrue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use imbrue in a sentence

  • Then he charged me as an enemy to the King, that I endeavoured to raise a new war, and imbrue the nation in blood again.

    George Fox | George Fox
  • But our young men are resolved to imbrue their hands in the blood of the whites.

    The Fort Dearborn Massacre | Linai Taliaferro Helm
  • I would sooner imbrue my hands in his blood, than that you should!

    Eveline Mandeville | Alvin Addison
  • He told Burke that he wondered above all things how he could imbrue his hands in the blood of Daft Jamie.

    The History of Burke and Hare | George Mac Gregor
  • He dared not accede to a motion, by which we were to continue for seven years to imbrue our hands in innocent blood.

British Dictionary definitions for imbrue

imbrue

embrue

/ (ɪmˈbruː) /


verb-brues, -bruing or -brued (tr) rare
  1. to stain, esp with blood

  2. to permeate or impregnate

Origin of imbrue

1
C15: from Old French embreuver, from Latin imbibere imbibe

Derived forms of imbrue

  • imbruement or embruement, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012