ingrained
Americanadjective
-
firmly fixed; deep-rooted; inveterate.
ingrained superstition.
-
wrought into or through the grain or fiber.
adjective
-
deeply impressed or instilled
his fears are deeply ingrained
-
(prenominal) complete or inveterate; utter
an ingrained fool
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(esp of dirt) worked into or through the fibre, grain, pores, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ingrained
Explanation
Use the adjective ingrained to describe the strong beliefs of someone who has thought that way for a very long time, such as the ingrained patriotism of a 20-year military veteran. Ingrained comes from the word grain, which in late Middle English referred to a certain kind of dye. This type of dye was indelible — unable to be removed — much like ingrained beliefs that are so firmly fixed that they'll never change.
Vocabulary lists containing ingrained
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Bless Me, Ultima
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Vocabulary from texts about Colin Powell
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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.
Stänicke explains that expectations are stored not only as conscious beliefs, but also as deeply ingrained patterns that shape how people respond to and interact with others.
From Science Daily • Jul. 1, 2026
Today, the impacts of those efforts are everywhere, so ingrained in our understanding of what it means to solve climate change that it can be hard to conceive of another way forward.
From Salon • Jun. 26, 2026
Cleanliness and cleaning up after oneself in public places is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
The facility’s extended closure was widely seen as a reflection of the authorities’ extreme aversion to risk in Kuwait, where uncertainty and instability became ingrained following the 1990 Iraqi invasion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Except for his hands and a circle of his face, his body was gray all over with ancient, ingrained dirt.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
