ingratiate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ingratiate
First recorded in 1615–25; perhaps from Latin in grātiam “into favor,” after Italian ingraziare; see in, grace, -ate 1
Explanation
To ingratiate is to make obvious efforts to gain someone's favor, in other words — to kiss up to someone. Ingratiate has not strayed much from its Latin roots, in gratiam, (in plus gratia meaning "favor") which means "in favor" or "for the favor of." To ingratiate is to gain the favor of someone by doing lots of favors to the point of being a nudge. Like the teacher's pet who answers every question, stays after class to clean the chalkboard, and brings the teacher an apple every day. When you ingratiate yourself to people, you risk annoying them — like a little dog nipping at their heels.
Vocabulary lists containing ingratiate
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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.
Ross, meanwhile, is trying to ingratiate himself with and improve the local community by funding scholarships for hundreds of local public high-school students to attend a nearby community college.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
But when Oliver walks into the store, entourage in tow, Matthew makes a play to ingratiate himself with the pop star that goes better than he ever could’ve expected.
From Salon • Aug. 26, 2025
Separately, Mr Hampshire also reflected on his worries about people trying to ingratiate themselves with Andrew "in order to make excessive money out the Duke or their association with him".
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2025
For some reason, he thought that was a friendly way to ingratiate himself to this African American man.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2024
But I didn't know how to ingratiate myself with the cool kids.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
