verb
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(tr) to bring about or give rise to; produce or cause
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to be born or cause to be born; bring or come into being
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of engender
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Old French engendrer, from Latin ingenerāre, from in- en- 1 + generāre “to beget” ( see generate)
Explanation
Engender is a fancy way of saying "to make happen," like when you engender the spirit of teamwork and cooperation by encouraging others and doing your share of the group's work. The verb engender has nothing to do with being male or female, though originally, it did mean "beget, procreate." Today, engender means "to produce or bring about." When students come to class prepared, meaning they've read their assignment, this engenders better class discussions, just as mutual trust and the desire to help each other engenders a meaningful friendship.
Vocabulary lists containing engender
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It could engender pride and joy at your stealthy maneuvers, indifference, resentment or using the friendship as collateral for a loan.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
“Judges should not have to worry when they rule against the president that the ruling will engender real personal threats,” Vladeck concluded.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
Perhaps the act of being prescribed a medication and taking it would engender a different hope, one that might work about as well as any other placebo.
From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026
Three orchestral concerts and a chamber recital at Carnegie Hall would normally engender nothing but pride from the musicians in question and reverence from audiences.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
Much too, you will think, reader, to engender jealousy: if a woman, in my position, could presume to be jealous of a woman in Miss Ingram’s.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
