instills

present tense third-person singular of instill
as in plants
to set permanently in the consciousness or mind-set a charismatic leader who instilled in his followers a passionate commitment to the cause

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 instills Do stretches, deep breathing, meditation or anything that engages your physical body and instills calm. Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025 This path instills our culture, standards and patient-first philosophy from the start. Prof. Dr. Med. Mazda Farshad, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025 That’s why activating existing natural strengths not only boosts the leader’s self-confidence but also instills trust in the team. Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 As Defense Secretary Dan Ogilvy (Pip Carter) is appointed as interim Prime Minister, Livingston deploys the military into the streets and instills a 24-hour media blackout. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025 There’s a scene in a restaurant in which Sylvia, while reeling from the effects of a weed gummy, tries to unearth a few secrets from her friends, and the way Byrne instills her character’s false confidence into every inebriated gesture and slurred word is nothing short of stunning. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2025 Leguizamo instills Bob with a touching tenderness. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 22 Mar. 2025 This knowledge of your limits instills trust and collaboration, allowing others space to chip in with their own abilities. Melissa Sierra, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025 The school districts allege the companies designed their products in a way that encourages compulsive use, instills anxiety when users aren’t on the platform often enough and provides inadequate parental controls. Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instills
Verb
  • Repot plants every two to three years into a container that is one to two sizes larger than the current pot.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The drop in temperatures comes as several states have already experienced their first frost or hard freeze, with NWS meteorologists advising people to bring pets and plants indoors as far south as Texas and Alabama as winter temperatures take hold.
    Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The search comes about one year after 43 Rhesus macaques escaped from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for medical research because an employee didn’t fully lock an enclosure.
    Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2025
  • For example, anyone who breeds or exhibits wild animals in a commercial setting must also be licensed by the USDA.
    Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Berman embeds these views in her heroines’ discussions about writing, which are the way their friendship grows.
    Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
  • More specifically, Chastain’s character embeds herself on dark-web message boards spreading white-supremacist rhetoric.
    Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Natural rock formations rise through the living room floor, a detail that roots the design in the hillside itself, and a full renovation of an existing home brought it in line with the style of the main house while still maintaining its own identity.
    Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Rising seas could swallow the land that roots our identity.
    Feleti Penitala Teo, Time, 22 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Instills.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instills. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.

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