imbue
[im-byoo]
- 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.
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Origin of imbue
First recorded in 1545–55, imbue is from the Latin word imbuere to wet, drench
Synonyms
See more synonyms for imbue on Thesaurus.com1. charge, infect, fire. 2. permeate, infuse, tincture, soak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for imbues
Contemporary Examples
And this imbues Europeans with a sense of moral superiority, meaning that we the Europeans are the moral avant-garde.
Patinkin imbues Saul with a hulking presence that fills entire rooms.
Instead, he imbues his work with a brooding melancholy, while maintaining both its dignity and elegance.
It imbues them with the power to create worlds and minimizes the time that they must spend with actual mortal actors.
Historical Examples
In Diodorus Aphrodite, enraged by a maiden, Derceto, imbues her with a fierce passion for a youth.
The History of Antiquity, Vol. II (of VI)Max Duncker
A Russian imbues his polite things with a heartiness, both of phrase and expression, that compels belief in their sincerity.
The Innocents AbroadMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
To what shall I liken its glorious perfection of form, or the fire that imbues the cold marble with the soul of a god?
The minister can render a service when he imbues his people with the highest ideals of business morality.
Church Cooperation in Community LifePaul L. Vogt
It imbues all classes with a respect for the thing judged, and with the notion of right.
American Institutions and Their InfluenceAlexis de Tocqueville et al.
imbue
- 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
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin imbuere to stain, accustom
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for imbues
imbue
v.
early 15c., "to keep wet; to soak, saturate;" also figuratively "to cause to absorb" (feelings, opinions, etc.), from Latin imbuere "moisten," of uncertain origin, perhaps from the same root as imbrication. Cf. also Old French embu, past participle of emboivre, from Latin imbibere "drink in, soak in" (see imbibe), which might have influenced the English word. Related: Imbued; imbuing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper