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definitions

instill

[ in-stil ]
/ ɪnˈstɪl /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR instill ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to infuse slowly or gradually into the mind or feelings; insinuate; inject: to instill courtesy in a child.
to put in drop by drop.

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RELATED WORDS

inspire, engender, disseminate, inculcate, inject, impart, diffuse, imbue, program, impregnate, suffuse, insert, interject, indoctrinate, inseminate, impress, brainwash, insinuate, intermix, propagandize

Nearby words

instigant, instigate, instigation, instigator, instil, instill, instillation, instillator, instinct, instinctive, instinctively

Origin of instill

1525–35; < Latin instillāre, equivalent to in- in-2 + stillāre to drip; see distill
Related formsin·still·er, nounin·still·ment, nounpre·in·still, verb (used with object)
Can be confusedinstall instill
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for instills

Word Origin and History for instills

instill

v.

also instil, early 15c., "to introduce (liquid, feelings, etc.) little by little," from Latin instillare "put in by drops, to drop, trickle," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + stilla "a drop" (see distill). Related: Instilled; instilling.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for instills

instill

[ ĭn-stĭl′ ]

v.

To pour in drop by drop.
Related formsin′stil•la′tion (ĭn′stə-lā′shən) n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.