ingratiate
verb
William Attwood
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When you ingratiate yourself, you put yourself in someone’s good graces in order to gain their approval or favor. While the word ingratiate does not necessarily imply that your behavior is obsequious or otherwise improper, the word may be used disapprovingly by those who distrust your motives. The word entered English in the early 1600s from the combining of the Latin noun gratia, meaning “grace” or “favor,” with the English prefix in-. Gratia comes from the adjective gratus, meaning “pleasing, grateful.” Gratus has, over the centuries, ingratiated itself well with the English language as the ancestor of a whole host of words including gratuitous, congratulate, and grace.
Examples of ingratiate in a Sentence
Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 17 May 2026
Messages where Altman appears ingratiated to Musk seem to show that Musk did most of the heavy lifting when OpenAI was founded and therefore should be awarded damages up to $150 billion, which Musk intends to donate to OpenAI’s nonprofit.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Her decision to run for Senate did not ingratiate her with Washington’s Democratic leadership.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026
By summer 2024, Ferro – who had already stolen more than $5 million of bitcoin from a victim in Texas, according to the department – had ingratiated himself with racketeering ring leaders and offered his residential burglary services for future ring operations.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for ingratiate
Cite this Entry
“Ingratiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ingratiate. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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ingratiate
verb
