Word of the Day

: September 4, 2018

ingratiate

verb in-GRAY-shee-ayt

What It Means

: to gain favor or favorable acceptance for by deliberate effort — usually used with with

ingratiate in Context

"He ingratiated himself with Crispin, deliberately ignoring Crispin's suspicion of him." — Zadie Smith, White Teeth, 2000

"Ford is also hoping to ingratiate itself with investors as its stock price still hovers around $11." — Nora Naughton, The Detroit News, 20 June 2018

Did You Know?

17th-century English speakers combined the Latin noun gratia, meaning "grace" or "favor," with the English prefix in- to create the verb ingratiate. When you ingratiate yourself, you are putting yourself in someone's good graces to gain their approval or favor. English words related to ingratiate include gratis and gratuity. Both of these reflect something done or given as a favor through the good graces of the giver.