imbue

14 synonyms for imbue, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Verb — To fill someone or something with a quality, feeling or idea so that it spreads through the whole of it.

Synonyms

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

riddle soak penetrate diffuse hue steep

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

infuse suffuse permeate instil pervade interpenetrate saturate impregnate

Synonyms by Meaning

1. verb

To fill someone or something with a quality, feeling or idea so that it spreads through the whole of it.

“Her training imbued her with a deep respect for detail.”

infuse suffuse permeate instil pervade riddle interpenetrate soak penetrate diffuse hue

2. verb technical or literary

To soak or saturate something with a liquid, especially a dye.

“The cloth was imbued with a deep indigo.”

saturate steep soak impregnate

How to use imbue

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

imbued with meaning imbue with confidence imbued with a sense of

Formal and literary; common in reviews and criticism.

Etymology

From Latin imbuere, meaning to soak, steep or stain.

Full origin of imbue →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between imbue and infuse?

They overlap closely, but imbue emphasises the result — the thing is now thoroughly filled with that quality. Infuse emphasises the act of putting it in, and is the ordinary word for flavours in cooking. You infuse oil with garlic; a place is imbued with history.

How is imbue used in a sentence?

The usual patterns are 'imbue A with B' and the passive 'A is imbued with B', where B is the quality. Say 'the film imbues the city with warmth', not 'imbues warmth to the city'.

People also searched

steep penetrate soak riddle hue diffuse pervade interpenetrate permeate suffuse impregnate infuse

Nearby words

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