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