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Ingratiate vs Conform - What's the difference?

ingratiate | conform |

As verbs the difference between ingratiate and conform

is that ingratiate is (reflexive) to bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please him or her while conform is (intransitive|of persons|often followed by to) to act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.

ingratiate

English

Verb

  • (reflexive) To bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please him or her.
  • * 1849 , , Shirley , ch. 15:
  • [H]e considered this offering an homage to his merits, and an attempt on the part of the heiress to ingratiate herself into his priceless affections.
  • * 1903 , , The Way of All Flesh , ch. 58:
  • [H]e would pat the children on the head when he saw them on the stairs, and ingratiate himself with them as far as he dared.
  • * 2007 July 9, , " Why Maliki Is Still Around," Time (retrieved 26 May 2014):
  • He ingratiated himself with the Kurdish bloc when he stood up to aggressive Turkish rhetoric about the Kurdish border in May.
  • To recommend; to render easy or agreeable.
  • * , "Sermon XIII" in Miscellaneous Theological Works of Henry Hammond, Volume 3 (1850 edition), p. 283 (Google preview):
  • What difficulty would it [the love of Christ] not ingratiate to us?

    conform

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (intransitive, of persons, often followed by to) To act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.
  • * 1822 , , Peveril of the Peak , ch. 1:
  • [H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.
  • * 1839 , , The Voyage of the Beagle , ch. 4:
  • [B]y conforming to the dress and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country.
  • To be in accordance with a set of specifications or regulations, or with a policy or guideline.
  • * 1919 , , The Camp Fire Girls Do Their Bit , ch. 11:
  • In height and breadth it conformed to the prescribed measurements laid down by the rules of the contest.
  • * 2006 22 Dec., " Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award ," New York Times (retrieved 7 June 2011):
  • A judge in a Texas widow’s lawsuit over the Merck drug Vioxx reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million on Thursday so that it conformed to state law.
  • To make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.
  • * , "Vanbrugh's House" in The Poems of Jonathan Swift (1910 edition):
  • There is a worm by Phoebus bred,
    By leaves of mulberry is fed,
    Which unprovided where to dwell,
    Conforms itself to weave a cell.
  • * 1836 , , Nature , ch. 6:
  • The sensual man conforms' thoughts to things; the poet ' conforms things to his thoughts.

    Synonyms

    * (act in accordance with expectations) acquiesce, comply, go along to get along, knuckle under, submit