inculcate

UK/ɪnˈkʌl.keɪt/US/ˈɪn.kʌl.keɪt/

verbC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechleans written

Other forms: inculcated, inculcating, inculcates

To inculcate is to fix an idea in somebody's mind by repetition. Inculcate discipline, inculcated from childhood, inculcate the values.

The repetition is the method, which is why it belongs to schools, armies and religions. The Latin means to tread in with the heel, which is a remarkably violent image for teaching.

Definitions of inculcate

1verbinculcateTo fix an idea in somebody's mind by repetition.C2
“The school tries to inculcate good manners in its pupils from their first day.”

inculcate is a teaching.

Where it comes from

Latin inculcare means to tread in, from in plus calcare, to trample, from calx, a heel.

Latin
inculcātus
English, today
inculcate

Built from

inculcō · Latin — impress upon, force upon
in- · Latin — in
calcō · Latin — tread upon, trample
calx#Etymology_2 · Latin — heel

Latin inculcātus, perfect passive participle of inculcō (“impress upon, force upon”) (see -ate and -ate), from in- (“in”) + calcō (“tread upon, trample”), from calx#Etymology_2 (“heel”). Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

inculcate in the wild

Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an ideology, often avoiding critical analysis.
Indoctrination
Endless gratitude and respect for one's parents and ancestors, properly expressed, were considered to inculcate proper personal, social, and political virtues as well.
Xiaolian
Jawahar Planetarium is situated here, which has been striving to inculcate scientific temper among masses through its sky shows on astronomy and science.
Anand Bhavan
Soul Grand Prix dances used mixed media, films, photos, and posters to inculcate the "Black is beautiful" style period.
Soul Grand Prix
The faculty of engineering aims not only to impart contemporary engineering and scientific knowledge in the disciplines concerned, but also to inculcate creativity, research techniques, and self development.
Yalova University

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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