inculcate
/ɪnˈkʌl.keɪt/US/ˈɪn.kʌl.keɪt/
inculcate verb: to teach by repeated instruction.
Verb
inculcate (third-person singular simple present inculcates, present participle inculcating, simple past and past participle inculcated)
- To teach by repeated instruction.
- Those impious Pigs,
Who, by frequent squeaks, have dared impugn
The settled Swellfoot system, or to make
Irreverent mockery of the genuflexions
Inculcated by the arch-priest, have been whipt
Into a loyal and an orthodox whine.1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts - she had a perfect Parisian accent, was musical—all French women sing—had a great deal of tournure, the value of which she was always inculcating on her pupils: "La Grace plus belle que la beauté," was invariably the quotation when putting on her shawl; and, it must be confessed, that never did five...1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “(please specify the page)”, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC...
- Those impious Pigs,
- To induce understanding or a particular sentiment in a person or persons.
- all preachers , especially such as be of good temper , and have wisdom with conscience , ought to inculcate and beat upon a peace , silence , and surseance1641, Francis Bacon, A Wise and Moderate Discourse, Concerning Church-Affaires
- The right defense against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments.1943, C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
Adjective
inculcate (not comparable)
- Inculcated.
- Wee had neede to haue the word of God often inculcate and beaten vpon vs.1608, Andrew Willet, Hexapla in Exodum
inculcate meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
inculcate in Tamil
- to induce understanding or a particular sentiment in a person or persons
- பதி pati
inculcate in Urdu
- سمجھانا, سکھلانا, تاکید کرنا, زبردستی سکھانا, ذہن نشین کرنا
inculcate in Bengali
- শিক্ষা দেওয়া, মনে গেঁথে দেওয়া, অনুপ্রবিষ্ট করা
inculcate in Malayalam
- instil, implant, fix
- മനസ്സിൽ പതിപ്പിക്കുക, മനസ്സിൽ കടത്തുക, മണ്ടയിൽ കടത്തുക, നിവേശിപ്പിക്കുക, ആവർത്തിച്ചാവർത്തിച്ചു പഠിപ്പിക്കുക, പറഞ്ഞുപറഞ്ഞുമനസ്സിലാക്കുക
- infuse, imbue, inspire
- മനസ്സിൽ കടത്തുക, ചിന്താദികളെ നിവേശിപ്പിക്കുക, ഉള്ളിൽ കടത്തുക, തോന്നിക്കുക, ആവേശമുണ്ടാക്കുക, ആവേശിപ്പിക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- inculcate in Kannada
- ಒತ್ತಿಹೇಳು, ತಿರುತಿರುಗಿ ಹೇಳು
Examples of inculcate in a sentence
- But wordless conditioning […] cannot inculcate the more complex courses of behaviour.1932, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, London: Chatto & Windus:
- The institutional forces — school, psychiatry, police — that inculcate conformity and enforce heterosexuality in gay youth.1985 August 17, S. H. Chua, “IGA Smashes Borders”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 6, page 9:
Synonyms of inculcate
Forms of inculcate
| third-person singular present | inculcates |
|---|---|
| present participle | inculcating |
| past participle | inculcated |
| past | inculcated |
Origin of inculcate
Borrowed from Latin inculcātus, perfect passive participle of inculcō (“impress upon, force upon”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from in- (“in”) + calcō (“tread upon, trample”), from calx (“heel”). Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
Words formed from inculcate
Questions about inculcate
- What does inculcate mean?
- Inculcate means to teach by repeated instruction.
- What is inculcate in Tamil?
- Inculcate in Tamil is பதி (pati). See Inculcate meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use inculcate in a sentence?
- But wordless conditioning […] cannot inculcate the more complex courses of behaviour.
- What part of speech is inculcate?
- Inculcate can be a verb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce inculcate?
- Inculcate is pronounced /ˈɪn.kʌl.keɪt/ (US).
- What is the past tense of inculcate?
- The past tense of inculcate is inculcated.
Words near inculcate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: inculcate (page history and authors); inculcate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Inculcate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inculcate (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); inculcate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-inculcate.wav.
Cite this entry: “inculcate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/inculcate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.