ingratiating

adjective

in·​gra·​ti·​at·​ing in-ˈgrā-shē-ˌā-tiŋ 

1

: intended or adopted in order to gain favor : flattering

2

: capable of winning favor : pleasing

an ingratiating smile

ingratiatingly

in-ˈgrā-shē-ˌā-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• charming
• adorable

Examples of ingratiating in a Sentence

one of the orphans had a most ingratiating smile

Recent Examples on the Web

Sweeney stars as Penny Jo, a South Dakota diner waitress with an appealing smile, an ingratiating stammer, a scarf in her hair, and deep reserves of ruthless ambition. —Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025

Still, on a moment-to-moment basis, the film has tension, strong character dynamics and sharp individual portraits whose astringency gets alleviated by Gottsagen and James’ more ingratiating turns. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025

Smith’s tone was self-conscious and ingratiating—at times, obsequious. —Sam Adler-Bell, The New Republic, 7 Mar. 2022

So Nachminovitch and her workers are unfailingly polite and ingratiating, even when confronting the obstinate, the ignorant, the hostile, the unapologetically inhumane. —Gene Weingarten, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for ingratiating

• accelerating
• accentuating
• accommodating
• accumulating
• adjudicating
• administrating
• affiliating
• agglutinating
• alienating
• alleviating
• amalgamating
• ameliorating

Kids Definition

ingratiating

adjective

in·​gra·​ti·​at·​ing

in-ˈgrā-shē-ˌāt-iŋ

1

: pleasing

an ingratiating smile

2

: intended to gain favor

ingratiating manners

ingratiatingly adverb