imbue [ im-byoo ] SHOW IPA
/ ɪmˈbyu / PHONETIC RESPELLING
verb (used with object), im·bued, im·bu·ing.
to impregnate or inspire, as with feelings, opinions, etc.: The new political leader was imbued with the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.
to saturate or impregnate with moisture, color, etc.
to imbrue.
QUIZ
SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?
Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!
Question 1 of 6
Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?
Origin of imbue First recorded in 1545–55, imbue is from the Latin word imbuere “to wet, drench”
OTHER WORDS FROM imbue im·bue·ment, noun pre·im·bue, verb (used with object), pre·im·bued, pre·im·bu·ing.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH imbue imbrue , imbue
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
Words related to imbue inculcate ,
ingrain ,
instill ,
leaven ,
permeate ,
pervade ,
steep ,
suffuse ,
bathe ,
diffuse ,
impregnate ,
infix ,
inoculate ,
invest
How to use imbue in a sentence Her father, a prominent Jamaican economics professor teaching at Stanford, was trying to imbue his two American-born girls with a sense of pride in their roots.
From the get, Thomas imbue s Maverick with innocence, humor and street smarts.
This was a society in the 19th and early 20th century that was imbue d with militaristic values.
The artists also imbue their pieces with their own styles, adding dashes of personality, spontaneity, and joy.
She imbue s inanimate structures with energy and personality.
And this imbue s Europeans with a sense of moral superiority, meaning that we the Europeans are the moral avant-garde.
Patinkin imbue s Saul with a hulking presence that fills entire rooms.
Instead, he imbue s his work with a brooding melancholy, while maintaining both its dignity and elegance.
It imbue s them with the power to create worlds and minimizes the time that they must spend with actual mortal actors.
This something, which, itself unseen, imbue s the whole with life and soul—this constitutes the art itself.
It imbue s all classes with a respect for the thing judged, and with the notion of right.
I take dyes in the sense of tinges, imbue s with, and make it governed of zeal.
It imbue s the entire character, and contains in itself the motive of all Christian conduct.
The minister can render a service when he imbue s his people with the highest ideals of business morality.
SEE MORE EXAMPLES SEE FEWER EXAMPLES
British Dictionary definitions for imbue
verb -bues , -buing or -bued (tr usually foll by with )
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
Derived forms of imbue imbuement , noun Word Origin for imbue C16: from Latin imbuere to stain, accustom
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