Meaning & use

ingrained

adjective·Academic

Firmly fixed or established, especially a habit, attitude, or belief that is difficult to change.

See it in a sentence

Her habit of checking the locks twice was so ingrained that she did it without thinking.

Prejudice can become ingrained in a community long before anyone questions where it came from.

A note on using this word

Ingrained usually describes habits, beliefs, or traits rather than physical objects, and often implies the trait resists change.

Words with a similar meaning

deep-seatedentrenchedembedded

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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