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Imbibe vs Imbue - What's the difference?

imbibe | imbue |

As verbs the difference between imbibe and imbue

is that imbibe is to drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages) while imbue is : To wet or stain an object completely with some physical quality.

imbibe

English

Verb

(imbib)
  • To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
  • (figuratively) To take in; as, to imbibe knowledge.

    • Derived terms

    * imbiber * imbibement

    Hyponyms

    * (l)

    Related terms

    * beverage

    imbue

    English

    Verb

    (imbu)
  • (transitive): To wet or stain an object completely with some physical quality.
    • The shirt was imbued with his scent.
  • In general, to act in a way which results in an object becoming completely permeated or impregnated by some quality.
    • The entire text is imbued with the sense of melancholy and hopelessness.

    Usage notes

    * Imbue takes meaning from the word imbibe, which means "to absorb or to be filled with".