ingratiating

[ in-grey-shee-ey-ting ]

adjective

1. charming; agreeable; pleasing.
2. deliberately meant to gain favor:

   an ingratiating manner.

Other Words From

• in·grati·ating·ly adverb
• unin·grati·ating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ingratiating¹

First recorded in 1635–45; ingratiat(e) + -ing ²

Example Sentences

In person he’s ingratiating, charming, eager to please.

From Slate

The apparent failure to tackle election misinformation comes as Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook parent company Meta, has been publicly ingratiating himself to Republicans who had previously criticized him for providing grants to county election offices in 2020, which they falsely claimed was a partisan endeavor.

From Salon

Both show off Glaser’s gift for grabbing a subject, attacking it from every side, playing smart and dumb, ingratiating and insulting, going sweet or sour.

From New York Times

For more than two years, federal prosecutors allege, Mark Meng stole high-end violins across the country — ingratiating himself to vendors by posing as a collector who merely wanted to borrow and try them out, then ghosting those vendors and reselling them to an unknowing violin dealer in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

Gilbert is vaguely dopey but ingratiating.

From New York Times

Related Words

• charming
• disarming
• smarmy