inculcate

[in-kuhl-keyt, in-kuhl-keyt]

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verb (used with object), in·cul·cat·ed, in·cul·cat·ing.

to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly (usually followed by upon or in): to inculcate virtue in the young.

to cause or influence (someone) to accept an idea or feeling (usually followed by with): Socrates inculcated his pupils with the love of truth.

Origin of inculcate

1540–50; < Latin inculcātus past participle of inculcāre to trample, impress, stuff in, equivalent to in- in-² + culc- (variant, in noninitial position, of calc-, stem of calx heel) + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsin·cul·ca·tion, nounin·cul·ca·tive

[in-kuhl-kuh-tiv] /ɪnˈkʌl kə tɪv/, in·cul·ca·to·ry, adjectivein·cul·ca·tor, noun

Can be confusedinculcate indoctrinate

Synonyms for inculcate

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1. instill, infix, ingrain.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for inculcate

indoctrinate, instill, impart, educate, impress, communicate, plant, instruct, program, drill, inseminate, brainwash, teach

Examples from the Web for inculcate

Contemporary Examples of inculcate

Since 1980, American child-rearing has sought to inculcate self-esteem in the young.
David's Book Club: Pinched
David Frum
April 16, 2012
Larson does not explain that the Vice-Chancellor was spared in order to inculcate uncertainty.
A Witness to Hitler's Rise
Zachary Shore
May 27, 2011

Historical Examples of inculcate

But in that I have never omitted to inculcate a strict adherence to the principles of it.
Patrick Henry
Moses Coit Tyler
To stern moralists it is an occasion for the hard lessons they love to inculcate.
One Of Them
Charles James Lever
To inculcate this principle is the highest mission of the higher education.
Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence
Various
That's the way to inculcate a filthy pharisaic conceit into a child.
Fantasia of the Unconscious
D. H. Lawrence
This I most readily grant; it is the doctrine I wish to inculcate.
The American Practical Brewer and Tanner
Joseph Coppinger

British Dictionary definitions for inculcate

inculcate

verb

(tr) to instil by forceful or insistent repetition

Derived Formsinculcation, nouninculcator, noun

Word Origin for inculcate

C16: from Latin inculcāre to tread upon, ram down, from in- ² + calcāre to trample, from calx heel

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

Word Origin and History for inculcate

1540s, from Latin inculcatus, past participle of inculcare "force upon, stamp in, tread down," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + calcare "to tread, press in," from calx (1) "heel." Related: Inculcated; inculcating.