cultivate

1 to come to have gradually <cultivated a taste for opera in order to fit in with his new circle of friends> Synonyms acquire, develop, formRelated Words absorb, adopt, embrace, take in, take on; gain, get, obtain; achieve, attain, reach; foster, nourish, nurture, promoteNear Antonyms abandon, desert, forsake; cast, discard, ditch, dump, fling (off or away), jettison, junk, reject, scrap, shed, shuck (off), slough (also sluff), throw away, throw out, unloadAntonyms lose

2 to help the growth or development of <cultivated a passion for learning among his students over the years> Synonyms advance, foster, encourage, forward, further, incubate, nourish, nurse, nurture, promoteRelated Words advocate, back, champion, endorse (also indorse), support, uphold; endow, finance, fund, patronize, stake, subsidize, underwrite; abet, aid, assist; advertise, boost, plug, publicize, tout; agitate (for), campaign (for), work (for)Near Antonyms ban, bar, enjoin, forbid, interdict, outlaw, prevent, prohibit, proscribe; battle, combat, contend (with), counter, fight, oppose; repress, snuff (out), squash, squelch, stifle, subdue, suppress; arrest, check, halt, retard; encumber, fetter, hobble, impede, interfere (with), manacle, obstruct, shackleAntonyms discourage, frustrate, hinder, inhibit

3 to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care <in an attempt to produce New World counterparts of the wines that he had enjoyed in Europe, Jefferson cultivated several varieties of grapes at Monticello> Synonyms crop, grow, culture, dress, promote, raise, rear, tendRelated Words breed, produce, propagate; plant, sow; gather, glean, harvest, reap; germinate, quicken, ripen, root, sproutNear Antonyms kill; dig, extirpate, pick, pluck, pull (up), uproot; cut, hay, mow

4 to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on <we ought to cultivate the field out back> Synonyms farm, tend, tillRelated Words crop, plant; harvest, reap; harrow, hoe; sharecrop