instill
/ɪnˈstɪl/verb
instill is spelled I-N-S-T-I-L-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, instill means “To cause a quality to become part of someone's nature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in instill?
| Letters | 7: I-N-S-T-I-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is instill?
Instill appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce instill?
- US /ɪnˈstɪl/
Instill has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-instill.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-instill.wav, En-au-instill.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with instill?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as instill from its last stressed vowel (/ɪl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of instill
- instills present, singular, he/she/it
- instilling participle, present
- instilled participle, past
- instil
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does instill mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause a quality to become part of someone's nature.
It is important to instill discipline in a child at an early age.
- 2
To pour in (medicine, for example) drop by drop.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Instill in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inculquer , instiller |
| German | anerziehen, einimpfen, beibringen , einflößen |
| Portuguese | inculcar, instilar |
| Spanish | insuflar, infundir, instilar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does instill come from?
Borrowed from Latin instillō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).