instill

Use Instill in a sentence

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.

Origin:
1525–35; < Latin instillāre, equivalent to in- in-² + stillāre to drip; see distill

Related forms

in·still·er, noun

in·still·ment, noun

pre·in·still, verb (used with object)

Can be confused: install, instill.

Synonyms
1. inculcate, introduce.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To instill

Relevant Questions

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Collins

World English Dictionary

instil or instill (ɪnˈstɪl)

—vb , -stils, -stills, -stilling, -stilled
1.	to introduce gradually; implant or infuse
2.	rare to pour in or inject in drops

[C16: from Latin instillāre to pour in a drop at a time, from stillāre to drip]

instill or instill

—vb

[C16: from Latin instillāre to pour in a drop at a time, from stillāre to drip]

in'stiller or instill

—n

in'stilment or instill

—n

in'stillment or instill

—n

instil'lation or instill

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

instill

1533, "to introduce (feelings, etc.) little by little," from L. instillare "put in by drops," from instillare "to drop, trickle," in- "in" + stilla "a drop." (see distill).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

instill in·still (ĭn-stĭl')
v. in·stilled, in·still·ing, in·stills
To pour in drop by drop.

in'stil·la'tion (ĭn'stə-lā'shən) n.

Example sentences

Those on the panel said it was also the president's role to instill a sense of

balance on the leadership team.

It was important to my parents to instill us with the value of being

accountable for one's choices.

There is no effort to instill sincerity and intensity of conviction.

The fundamental idea of education is to teach people how to think rationally

and not to instill dogma.

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infix infuse insinuating instillation

Matching Quote

"Many older wealthy families have learned to instill a sense of public service in their offspring. But newly affluent middle-class parents have not acquired this skill. We are using our children as symbols of leisure-class standing without building in safeguards against an overweening sense of entitlement—a sense of entitlement that may incline some young people more toward the good life than toward the hard work that, for most of us, makes the good life possible."

-David Elkind