in·gra·ti·ate
inˈɡrāSHēˌāt/
verb
verb: ingratiate; 3rd person present: ingratiates; past tense: ingratiated; past participle: ingratiated; gerund or present participle: ingratiating
-
bring oneself into favor with someone by flattering or trying to please them.“a social climber who had tried to ingratiate herself with the city gentry”
synonyms: curry favor with, cultivate, win over, get in good with; toady to, grovel to, fawn over, kowtow to, play up to, pander to, flatter, court, wheedle, schmooze;informalsuck up to, lick someone’s boots, butter up, brown-nose“he ingratiated himself with colleagues to get into a position of trust”
Origin
early 17th century: from Latin in gratiam ‘into favor,’ on the pattern of obsolete Italian ingratiare, earlier form of ingraziare .
Leave a comment