Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INGRATIATE

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connect today's word to others: Our word ingratiate comes from the Latin phrase in gratiam, which means "for the favor of," and gratia means "grace or favor." With that in mind, could you explain who a persona grata is? And who a persona non grata is? To ingratiate yourself with people is to make sure you're favored by them: to seek their favor, to brown-nose them, to suck up to them, to tr___le to them--that is, to treat them as if they're above you, as if you're sleeping on the floor below them. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "INGRATIATE" When people ingratiate themselves, they purposefully do or say things to make sure they are liked by other people--usually for selfish reasons, and usually in a phony way. Pronunciation: in GRAY she ate Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind. You usually follow it with a reflexive pronoun (himself, herself, ourselves, etc.): "he ingratiates himself," "she ingratiates herself," "they ingratiated themselves with the manager." Other common forms: ingratiated, ingratiating, ingratiatingly, ingratiation How to use it: This word has a negative tone. People who ingratiate themselves are usually both self-serving and insincere. Talk about a person ingratiating himself or herself, often with someone else (or with some group of people). A spy or a social climber ingratiates herself (or himself) with an influential person, politicians running for office ingratiate themselves with their voters, a struggling company or nation tries to ingratiate itself with the global community. (Usually we talk about people "ingratiate themselves with..." but sometimes, we talk about people ingratiating themselves to someone, in someone's eyes or view, or into some group.) We can also point out the attitudes, statements, decisions, actions, and events that ingratiate someone with someone else: a lofty demeanor that ingratiates a politician with the nation's educated elite, a promise that ingratiates a supervisor with her crew, a giveaway item that ingratiates a company with its potential customers, a new habit that ingratiates you with your spouse. To use the adjective, talk about ingratiating people and characters, ingratiating manners and behaviors, ingratiating statements and offers, etc. examples: Attempting to ingratiate himself with the customers, he ooh'ed and ahh'ed over their baby. "She...was superior with the drivers and ingratiating with the editors."    —Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah, 2014 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "ingratiate" without saying "flatter" or "get on someone's good side." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is ingratiating, (doing something)." Example: "She's ingratiating, buying everyone drinks and raising boisterous toasts to them." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Complete the Clichés! In each issue this month, I'll present a general theme and a handful of common expressions that apply to it--but only the first few words of each expression. See if you can complete them!  To keep things interesting, I've picked a mixture of phrases both new and familiar to me. I hope some will pique your curiosity and inspire you to Google them for their meanings and backstories. (Please try that first, and if your search turns up empty, email me for help.) If you're playing this game with the kids in your family or your class, you might enjoy talking together about what the phrases mean. Enjoy! In the previous issue, the theme was "Lots to do:" A. Busy as a cat... B. Double in... C. Hewers of wood... D. He lets no grass... E. Put your shoulder... Answers: A. Busy as a cat on a hot tin roof B. Double in brass C. Hewers of wood and drawers of water D. He lets no grass grow under his feet E. Put your shoulder to the wheel Try these today. The theme is "Managing expectations:" A. Any port in... B. Half a loaf... C. Many are called... review today's word: 1. A close opposite of INGRATIATING is A. GLIB. B. OFFENSIVE. C. APPRECIATIVE. 2. It's _____: an attempt at ingratiation with the audience. A. a framed story, a story within a story B. characters in bikinis for no reason, just fan service C. a plea straight into the camera, breaking the fourth wall Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. B