Dictionary

ingratiate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ɪnˈɡɹeɪ.ʃi.eɪt/
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

First attested in 1622. From Italian ingraziare or Medieval Latin *ingratiatus, from Latin in grātiam (“for the favor of”).

Meanings

1. (reflexive) To bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please them; to insinuate oneself; to worm one's way in.
   • [H]e would pat the children on the head when he saw them on the stairs, and ingratiate himself with them as far as he dared. 1903, Samuel Butler, chapter 58, in The Way of All Flesh:
   • [H]e considered this offering an homage to his merits, and an attempt on the part of the heiress to ingratiate herself into his priceless affections. 1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Mr. Donne’s Exodus”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 108:
   • The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is trying to crawl out from under its rock and ingratiate itself as an "equal opportunity employer" and a friend of progressive movements. 1991 August 17, Roanne Hindin, “FBI: Not A Fashion Statement”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 5, page 4:
   • And it is symptomatic of the many paradoxes of Lederer's life that of all the people in the room, Brotherhood is the one whom he would most wish to serve, if ever he had the opportunity, even though — or perhaps because — his occasional efforts to ingratiate himself with his adopted hero have met with iron rebuff. 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
   • He ingratiated himself with the Kurdish bloc when he stood up to aggressive Turkish rhetoric about the Kurdish border in May. 2007 July 9, Brian T. Bennett, “Why Maliki Is Still Around”, in Time, retrieved 26 May 2014:
   • Like many other executives in Silicon Valley, [Meta CEO Mark] Zuckerberg has recently been ingratiating himself with the Trump administration. 2025 April 13, Bobby Allyn, “The biggest trial in Meta's history starts today. Here's what to know”, in NPR:
   • Her name was Michaela, but the men called her filthy things in dulcet, ingratiating voices, and she giggled with childish joy because she understood no English and thought they were flattering her and making harmless jokes. 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Eternal City”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 433:
2. (with-to) To recommend; to render easy or agreeable.
   • the Sense of this will mightily indear and ingratiate them to us 1686, John Scott, The Christian Life […] :
   • What difficulty would it [the love of Christ] not ingratiate to us? c. 1650, Henry Hammond, "Sermon XIII" in Miscellaneous Theological Works of Henry Hammond, Volume 3 (1850 edition), p. 283 (Google preview)

Forms

Deriveds

ingratiatory · ingratiative · ingratiator · reingratiate

Relateds

ingratiating · ingratiation

Translations (27)

cmn 討好 /讨好 (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · cs vetřít se do přízně (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · no smiske (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · cmn 奉承 (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · no innynde seg (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · bg подмилквам се (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · ja 機嫌を取る (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · mi whakaporepore (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · sv ställa sig in (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · bg подмазвам се (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · ar تَمَلَّقَ (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · la grātiam inīre ab (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · de beliebt machen (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · fr se faire aimer (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · ru сниска́ть расположе́ние (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · fi mielistellä (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · de schleimen (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · cs získat si přízeň (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · de sich beliebt machen (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · ja 満たす (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · nl bemind maken (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · de einschmeicheln (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · es congraciarse (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · cs vlichotit se (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · ru заискивать (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · nl in het gevlij komen (get someone's favor, especially through flattery) · ru втираться в дове́рие (get someone's favor, especially through flattery)