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 Like Saban, Smart demands physicality, instills competitiveness and obsesses over details — traits Sumrall values, too. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026 College Football instills a lot of loyalty and support in people for their alma mater through the thick and thin of the program’s success. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026 Nvidia's chips made GPT-6 Astra possible, while the model's success instills confidence in OpenAI's ability to make good on its custom silicon partnership with Broadcom. — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2026 Seeing the snow leopard changed the course of my life, and every new snow leopard sighting reminds me to go in search of the unknown, instills me with a sense of meaning and purpose. — Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026 Students converge on Morningside Heights because the university distills — and instills — the ideals of an open, democratic, pluralistic nation. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2026 Bush Hager said she’s worked hard throughout her life and instills that drive in her three children, including 13-year-old Mila, who had a summer job. — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026 The heart-pounding, Reznoresque theme instills a sense of urgency in the viewer to match that of the kitchen crew. — Alison Herman, Variety, 25 June 2026 After all, the liberal arts are, at their root, about giving people a well-rounded education that deeply instills critical thinking, communication, adaptability, and analytical skills. — Jamie Merisotis, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instills
Verb
  • Woodland plants like sweet woodruff and foamflower are best for shady spots.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Once Mooney plants the seed of his joke about how unhappy white Americans seemed after slavery the later images of Confederate memorial groups and white crowds at lynchings take on a surreal resonance.
    — Beandrea July, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • No response breeds panic Police cars and firetrucks crowded the streets as Michelle neared the school.
    — Taylor Galgano, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Recruitment has been good at collecting young talent, but that doesnt help the short term and breeds frustration for not being appropriately competitive to start the year.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • City finished 17 points behind Chelsea when Chelsea won their most recent title, and maybe after a while that inculcates a sense of shakiness, or not-quite-worthiness.
    — Katie Whyatt, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Because there’s something about the college environment that really inculcates hierarchy.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
Verb
  • The protesters also win over an initially unnerved local news reporter (Dylan O’Brien), who embeds with them as a communications ally.
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The regal-looking Oculus design is flattering in its curvilinear, embeds the diamond securely within its basket, and, once again, can go so far as to represent two lives uniting as one — sans borders, boundaries, or barriers.
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 26 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • However, her performance soon takes on a more grounded, childlike cadence, which roots the supposedly amnesiac Margot a little too firmly within the literal, especially for a tale whose poetry lies in its uncanniness.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, Nowell roots the band’s sound in the mid-’90s and keeps his vocal mannerisms as close to Bradley’s as possible.
    — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 15 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Instills.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instills. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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