Third Wednesday: Imbibing Can Be More Fun Than Imbuing

It’s been a while since I read this, but the mental image is not one easy to forget.

“She cast her spell and imbibed the doll with malevolent energy.”

 

Imbibe – to drink, especially when referring to alcohol; to drink in with the senses.

Howard imbibed more than usual when the team he bet on lost and he realized he owed Big Vic his house, his truck, and his dog.

Victorian society’s rules were clear—gentlewomen did not imbibe any liquor to the point of inebriation—at least not in public, and definitely not hundred-year old brandy.

 

Imbue – to permeate or inspire with emotions, ideas, thoughts, magic; to saturate with moisture; to fill with color or dye.

After John’s death, memories of him imbued Sharon with sadness each time she watched a sunset.

Malorie imbued twelve yards of satin with her favorite shade of periwinkle.

 

Here’s another look at Imbibe and Imbue.

Wrong:

Her hem of her cloak imbibed muddy water as she walked through the gutter.

After one night of imbuing Margarita’s, Joan decided she wasn’t cut out to be a party-girl.

Right:

The only time many of us imbibe champagne is at a wedding.

Merlin imbued fearsome magic into the crystal at the end of his wand with the utterance of a single word.

Contemplating twenty more years imbued with the drudgery of working at Simon’s Hardware and Notions, Harold imbibed an entire bottle of Scotch before daybreak.

 

Need a memory trick to distinguish these words?  If it’s something you feel it’s the “u” word.  If it has to do with drinking, it’s the “I” word.