as in suffuses
to cause (as a person) to become filled or saturated with a certain quality or principle
her training at the school for the deaf imbued her with a sense of purpose that she had never known before
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of imbues
Paz imbues Lucila with both an unwavering resilience and an effervescence expected of her youth.
—
Carlos Aguilar, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Collins’ labor-intensive process of transcription imbues the work with both the threat of decay and the possibility of survival, reflecting a present defined by precarity, resistance, and the choice not to go down with a sinking ship.
—Time, 30 Apr. 2026
Still, even as the memes become borderline unintelligible, Kirkslop contains an air of transgression that imbues the otherwise inane edits and images with perverse political undercurrents.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2026
The best power-pop thrives on the simmering tension between joyous jangle and sorrowful sentiment, and Presley imbues Orange’s songs with a palpable sense of shame and regret that makes even its most ebullient tracks feel heavy.
—Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026
Roster imbues his Ed with a sort of goofball persona, delightfully recalling his many hotel adventures after some drunken discomfort.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
During oral arguments, justices on both sides of the political aisle also questioned whether IEEPA imbues the Commander in Chief with the right to impose tariffs at all, even in the case of a national emergency.
—Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 9 Apr. 2026
Thanks to both Gosling’s tongue-in-cheek charisma — as well as the curious and utterly sincere personality that Ortiz imbues into Rocky through his voice performance and intuitive puppeteering (with plenty of improvisation) — the movie becomes a disarming interstellar, interspecies bromance.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
But like with all of his sets, Holmes imbues wisdom in even the most juvenile of jokes.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
Carlos Aguilar, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Collins’ labor-intensive process of transcription imbues the work with both the threat of decay and the possibility of survival, reflecting a present defined by precarity, resistance, and the choice not to go down with a sinking ship.
—Time, 30 Apr. 2026
Still, even as the memes become borderline unintelligible, Kirkslop contains an air of transgression that imbues the otherwise inane edits and images with perverse political undercurrents.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2026
The best power-pop thrives on the simmering tension between joyous jangle and sorrowful sentiment, and Presley imbues Orange’s songs with a palpable sense of shame and regret that makes even its most ebullient tracks feel heavy.
—Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026
Roster imbues his Ed with a sort of goofball persona, delightfully recalling his many hotel adventures after some drunken discomfort.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
During oral arguments, justices on both sides of the political aisle also questioned whether IEEPA imbues the Commander in Chief with the right to impose tariffs at all, even in the case of a national emergency.
—Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 9 Apr. 2026
Thanks to both Gosling’s tongue-in-cheek charisma — as well as the curious and utterly sincere personality that Ortiz imbues into Rocky through his voice performance and intuitive puppeteering (with plenty of improvisation) — the movie becomes a disarming interstellar, interspecies bromance.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
But like with all of his sets, Holmes imbues wisdom in even the most juvenile of jokes.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imbues
Verb
-
Announcing its hardcore aspirations with a moody steel-blue palette that suffuses the rural setting with dread, the film takes place almost entirely on a remote cow farm, the home of a mixed-race family of three.—
Beatrice Loayza,
Variety,
22 May 2026
-
The soft natural light suffuses the red clay brick room, centered around long communal tables, introducing an intimate ease that invites you to linger.—
Anais Martinez,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
While the joy of the wedding barely conceals an undercurrent of pain, that scene infuses the film with a jolt of energy, helping the viewer to exhale for the first time.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
20 May 2026
-
Mahonia is an evergreen shrub with intricate leaf texture that infuses movement into shady spaces.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imbues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imbues. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
