Meaning & use
imbibe
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitiveformalhumorous
To drink something, especially an alcoholic drink.
Grammar: Often used without an object: they imbibe freely; with one it names the drink: imbibe wine.
Patterns
- imbibe something
- imbibe too freely
Guests imbibed champagne on the terrace all afternoon.
He rarely imbibes, so two glasses made him sleepy.
The festival crowd imbibed far too freely for the organizers' liking.
verbtransitiveliteraryfigurative
To take in ideas, knowledge or attitudes and absorb them thoroughly.
Grammar: Takes an abstract object: imbibe the culture, imbibe the lessons.
Patterns
- imbibe something from someone
- imbibe knowledge
She imbibed her grandmother's love of gardening as a child.
Students imbibe the values of a school without noticing.
He imbibed the local customs within weeks of arriving.
verbtransitiveraretechnical
To absorb a liquid, as a plant or material takes in water.
Grammar: Rare and technical in this sense; an object names the liquid.
Patterns
- imbibe water
The dry soil imbibed the rain within minutes.
Seeds imbibe water before they begin to sprout.
The sponge imbibed the spilled juice.
Word forms
| third person singular | imbibes |
|---|---|
| past tense | imbibed |
| past participle | imbibed |
| -ing form | imbibing |
Common combinations
- imbibe alcohol
- Passengers may not imbibe alcohol on the ferry.
- imbibe freely
- The wedding guests imbibed freely.
- imbibe knowledge
- Young apprentices imbibe knowledge by watching experts.
- imbibe the atmosphere
- We sat in the square and imbibed the atmosphere.
- imbibe culture
- She imbibed the culture of every city she visited.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drink
- Drink is the everyday, neutral word, whereas imbibe sounds formal or jokingly grand.
- absorb
- Absorb is the plain choice for taking in ideas or liquid and lacks the slightly literary flavor of imbibe.
- quaff
- Quaff means to drink heartily and quickly, so it suggests more enthusiasm than imbibe.
- soak up
- Soak up is informal and suits sunshine or atmosphere, where imbibe is more formal.
Opposites
Word family
- imbiber noun
- a person who drinks, especially alcohol
- imbibition noun
- the act of absorbing liquid, a technical term
- bibulous adjective
- fond of drinking alcohol
- beverage noun
- a drink, from a related Latin root
Commonly confused: imbibe or imbue?
imbibe vs imbue
Imbue means to fill something with a quality or feeling, while imbibe means to take something in; they look similar but the direction is reversed.
Practice
As a child abroad, she ____ the customs of her new home without trying.
Choose one answer.
Imbibed means took in or absorbed. Imbued would need the customs to be filling her in the other direction, and the remaining verbs have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “imbibe”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.