| Verb | 1. | instill - impart gradually; "Her presence instilled faith into the children"; "transfuse love of music into the students"contribute, lend, impart, add, bestow, bring - bestow a quality on; "Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company"; "The music added a lot to the play"; "She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings"; "This adds a light note to the program" breathe - impart as if by breathing; "He breathed new life into the old house" | |
| 2. | instill - enter drop by drop; "instill medication into my eye" | |
| 3. | instill - produce or try to produce a vivid impression of; "Mother tried to ingrain respect for our elders in us"impress, strike, affect, move - have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd" | |
| 4. | instill - teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions; "inculcate values into the young generation"drill - teach by repetition din - instill (into a person) by constant repetition; "he dinned the lessons into his students" | |
| 5. | instill - fill, as with a certain quality; "The heavy traffic tinctures the air with carbon monoxide"fill, fill up, make full - make full, also in a metaphorical sense; "fill a container"; "fill the child with pride" | |