imbue
Americanverb (used with object)
-
imbues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
imbued,
past participle, past
-
imbuing
present participle
verb
-
to instil or inspire (with ideals, principles, etc)
his sermons were imbued with the spirit of the Reformation
-
rare to soak, esp with moisture, dye, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
imbuesimple
-
imbuessimple
-
have imbuedperfect
-
has imbuedperfect
-
am imbuingprogressive
-
are imbuingprogressive
-
is imbuingprogressive
-
have been imbuingperfect progressive
-
has been imbuingperfect progressive
Past
-
imbuedsimple
-
had imbuedperfect
-
was imbuingprogressive
-
were imbuingprogressive
-
had been imbuingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of imbue
First recorded in 1545–55, imbue is from the Latin word imbuere “to wet, drench”
Explanation
To imbue is to fill up with or become "soaked" in an idea or emotion, as a sponge takes in water. One visit to a sick relative in a hospital might be enough to imbue a child with a lifelong ambition to become a doctor. You can use imbue in a similar way as "saturate," or "soak through," to describe a filling or absorbing. A "hue" is a color, and it rhymes with imbue. When you're imbued with something, you are, in a way, colored by it. If you imbue a dish sponge with oily orange water from a spaghetti bowl, the color and the oil soak in. To fill people with qualities or emotions is, for example, to imbue them with strength or optimism.
Vocabulary lists containing imbue
Grade 11, List 5
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Death of a Salesman
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Scarlet Letter
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
While eager to imbue him with reverential status, the Party is simultaneously wary that almost any discussion of Mao's legacy could rake up uncomfortable memories.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Blurred faces and hazy photography imbue much of the film with the sense of trying to remember a dream.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
"Artificial intelligence lacks feelings and memories; in short, it has no nafas... It can't imbue it into food."
From Barron's ● Nov. 30, 2025
So when we’re constructing it, we tried to imbue as much meaning as we could put into it and hopefully that would come through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024
“No harm will come to it. I may be suffering from brand-fly poison, but I can still imbue a charm or two.”
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Great TV imbues its fiction with a soul, coaxing us to view fully crafted characters as beings of flesh and blood, or constructed unscripted scenarios as truth.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
I’m a person who creates characters, imbues them with problems and makes up situations for them to struggle through toward emotional epiphanies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
Mr. Menzies imbues Chris with understated intensity as the equilibrium he has established is undermined by Annie’s presence and her barely veiled hostility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Ms. O’Hara has the more richly written role, and she imbues Carmen with a gentle sense of yearning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
When the great love that thinks for its neighbour imbues us all, we shall cease to make personal comments, and endeavour to bear each others burdens with silent, tender grace.
From A Little Girl of Long Ago by Amanda Minnie Douglas
"Human conversations are imbued with background assumptions that give meaning and relevance to the words being used," Denning explains.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
The result is a society imbued with ignorance, indifference and even disdain for individuals wrestling with intersecting challenges of aging and cognitive impairment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
Because these celebrity exorcists are imbued with a kind of divine authority in their audiences’ minds by their proximity to supernatural matters, their social media followings can be unusually strong and loyal.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026
Former Imagineer Nikkolas Smith, a self-described “artivist,” imbued his Legacy Tower in Downtown Disney with hidden meaning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Belew asked Gaines what kind of coin he was going to use, if he had some special one imbued with magical powers.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Halle Berry feels like a big sister, always imbuing a bit of sagacity but distinct youthfulness into every film she does.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
For one thing, the display is shaped like a conventional mirror, imbuing it with the comfort of the familiar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
But rather than depict a childhood of adversity, her paintings empower the kids within them to claim their own space, imbuing her memories with strength and light.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
Best of all was Ms. Williams, imbuing Alona with a magnetic stage presence, emotional resonance and vocal versatility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
Rowan puts his hands on either side of her face and squeezes, imbuing her with an otherworldly gold light.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
