Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To drink.
- v. To absorb or take in as if by drinking: "The whole body . . . imbibes delight through every pore” ( Henry David Thoreau).
- v. To receive and absorb into the mind: "Gladstone had . . . imbibed a strong prejudice against Americans” ( Philip Magnus).
- v. Obsolete To permeate; saturate.
- v. To drink alcoholic beverages.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To drink in; absorb by or as if by drinking: as, a sponge imbibes moisture.
- To receive or admit into the mind; imbue one's mind with: as, to imbibe errors.
- To cause to drink in; imbue.
- To drink; absorb liquid or moisture.
Wiktionary
- v. To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
- v. figuratively To take in; as, to imbibe knowledge.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To drink in; to absorb; to soak up; to suck or take in; to receive as by drinking.
- v. To receive or absorb into the mind and retain
- v. obsolete To saturate; to imbue.
WordNet 3.0
- v. receive into the mind and retain
- v. take in, also metaphorically
- v. take (gas, light or heat) into a solution
- v. take in liquids
Etymologies
- From Latin prefix im- ("im-") + bibere ("to drink"), whence also beverage (via Old French). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English embiben, to soak up, saturate, from Latin imbibere, to drink in, imbibe : in-, in; see in-2 + bibere, to drink; see pō(i)- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“She was pleased that he seemed to be pleased with her; he asked her to "imbibe" some ice-cream with him.”
“imbibe," settled once again to listen in gloomy silence.”
“People who socialize with heavy drinkers are more likely to imbibe a bit too much themselves.”
Alcohol intake of friends, family impact your drinking habits
“They encourage him to imbibe large quantities of wine, and they then have relations with him during his intoxication.”
The Huffington Post: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Deception And Desire: An Overview Of Genesis
“Then Johnny "Rooster" Byron Mr. Rylance emerges from the trailer, does a line of coke, smokes a joint, downs more alcohol than any mortal could ever consume; you get the picture of one unsavory dude who will and does imbibe anything.”
The Huffington Post: Regina Weinreich: Jerusalem on Broadway: No Trip to the Holy Land
“With their one taste-organ orifice, they consume books with a sound that, if you're not born there, takes some getting used to -- and they consume so many books so fast, that * ian authors must imbibe inspiration in some way inhumanly possible as they work without rest, coffee or praise -- for on asteroid * there is an inverse of the Earth ratio of fiction writers to readers.”
“Removed Indians could then imbibe civilization—education, Christianity, farming—in the fullness of time.”
“Those wanting to imbibe while tubing would have to bring their beverages in thermoses or other reusable containers.”
The Wall Street Journal: When Litterbugs Spoil the Floating Party
“But we know enough about Puritans to suspect that what they really disliked was the idea of a holiday where people would imbibe strong drink and generally make merry.”
The Wall Street Journal: Forced Merriment: The True Spirit of Christmas
“Yet many changes take place to the vegetables, fruits, cereals and nuts we are presently told to imbibe long before we see them.”
The Huffington Post: Matthew Edlund, M.D.: Food Safety and Terrorism
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘imbibe’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 269 more...
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my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
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EN - eloquence in public speaking
Key words from "The Training of a Public Speaker" by Grenville Kleiser (New York and London, 1920)
beget, imago, approbation, orator, peroration, Cicero, eloquence, elocution, rhetoric, premeditate, plead, Isocrates and 264 more...
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#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
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List of Impressive Dissertation Words
Extraordinary words that Johnston and Shea might try to use while writing their dissertations.
egress, limn, effluvium, asynchronous, imbibe, opine, cognoscente, gnosis, inchoate, cathect, austerity, prescient and 1 more...
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Sound Sex
taciturn, deflower, recursive, parapraxis, comitative, atelic, awkward, eccentric, libidinous, astereognosis, aloof, moonglade and 50 more...
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Alternatives to DRINK
drink is a boring word.
absorb, consume, dissipate, gulp, indulge, swallow, imbibe, sip, fill, quaff, chug, slug and 2 more...
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To Put Something Inside Something Else
Verbs meaning to put something inside something else
insert, introduce, intromit, implant, stuff, turducken, inject, nest, chamber, fill, embed, enclose and 3 more...
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Let's Eat!
Eating Verbs
boil, break bread, breakfast, chew, chomp, chow down, consume, cram, devour, diet, digest, dig in and 48 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1832 more...
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Words I like
A list contrived for the sole purpose of storing words I like to include in my writing; words that inspire or carry power for me.
contrite, meadow, sward, ossary, calumny, moribund, necropolis, chthonic, murmur, erstwhile, chime, beryl and 63 more...
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magoosh1
aberration, aboveboard, abysmal, ace, affable, aghast, alacrity, ambiguous, ambivalent, ameliorate, amenable, amiable and 215 more...
Tweets
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