What does imbue mean?
Word: Imbue
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Imbue means to give someone or something a strong feeling, value or quality that stays.
Synonyms: instil, infuse
How do you spell imbue?
Syllables: im - bue
Tricky part: The end of the word is the trap. Students hear a 'yoo' sound and write imbew or imbu, but the letters are u and e.
Watch out for: imbew, imbu, imboo
Memory tip: Good teachers imbue their pupils with values, and value can lend this word its closing pair of letters.
Imbue in a sentence
Example 1: The old school song seemed to imbue the whole assembly with pride.
Example 2: Her paintings are imbued with the colours of the Mediterranean coast.
Example 3: Our captain's calm voice imbued the team with fresh confidence.
Fun Fact
In Latin it meant to moisten or soak. That picture survives today: a person imbued with a feeling has soaked it up, the way cloth takes in dye.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
immbue
a) e
b) m
c) u
d) b
Show answer
b) m. One m is all this short word needs.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
Good coaches ieubm young players with a love of fair play.
a) imply
b) impel
c) impute
d) imbue
Show answer
d) imbue. The jumble has no p, and every other option needs one.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word imbue as used in the sentence:
Her grandmother's stories imbued Kavya with a lifelong love of history.
a) tired
b) blamed
c) filled
d) drained
Show answer
c) filled. The stories left her full of that love.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. imbue 2. instil 3. inculcate 4. permiate
a) to spread through every part of something
b) to give a person a lasting sense of something
c) to teach an idea firmly by repeating it
d) to put an idea into someone's mind little by little
Show answer
a) to spread through every part of something. Permeate takes an e, not an i, before the a.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A story that is imbued with hope ____.
a) ends with everyone giving up on their plans
b) leaves readers feeling that things can improve
c) contains only dates and lists of names
d) has no feeling of any kind running through it
Show answer
b) leaves readers feeling that things can improve
2. Which of these could a good teacher imbue pupils with?
a) a love of reading
b) a seat on the bus
c) a set of new pencils
d) a copy of the timetable
Show answer
a) a love of reading
