INSTILL DEFINITIONS - 5 definitions found
instill v 1: impart gradually; "Her presence instilled faith into the children"; "transfuse love of music into the students" [syn: instill, transfuse] 2: enter drop by drop; "instill medication into my eye" [syn: instill, instil] 3: produce or try to produce a vivid impression of; "Mother tried to ingrain respect for our elders in us" [syn: impress, ingrain, instill] 4: teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions; "inculcate values into the young generation" [syn: inculcate, instill, infuse] 5: fill, as with a certain quality; "The heavy traffic tinctures the air with carbon monoxide" [syn: impregnate, infuse, instill, tincture] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) instill transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Latin instillare, from in- + stillare to drip, from stilla drop Date: 15th century 1. to cause to enter drop by drop <instill medication into the infected eye> 2. to impart gradually <instilling a love of learning in children> Synonyms: see implant • instillation noun • instiller noun • instillment noun Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Instill \In*still"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Instilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Instilling.] [L. instillare, instillatum; pref. in- in + stillare to drop, fr. stilla a drop: cf. F. instiller. See Distill.] [Written also instil.] To drop in; to pour in drop by drop; hence, to impart gradually; to infuse slowly; to cause to be imbibed. That starlight dews All silently their tears of love instill. --Byron. How hast thou instilled Thy malice into thousands. --Milton. Syn: To infuse; impart; inspire; implant; inculcate; insinuate. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 44 Moby Thesaurus words for "instill": beat into, besprinkle, brainwash, breathe, brew, catechize, color, condition, decoct, dredge, dye, engrave, entincture, etch, flavor, grave, imbrue, imbue, implant, impregnate, impress, imprint, inculcate, indoctrinate, infiltrate, infix, infuse, inoculate, inscribe, inseminate, leaven, penetrate, permeate, pervade, program, saturate, season, stamp, steep, suffuse, temper, tincture, tinge, transfuse |
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