cultivate Meaning, Definition & Usage

verb foster the growth of
verb prepare for crops
work; crop.
- Work the soil
- cultivate the land
verb teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment
educate; civilise; school; train; civilize.
- Cultivate your musical taste
- Train your tastebuds
- She is well schooled in poetry
verb adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment
naturalize; tame; naturalise; domesticate.
- domesticate oats
- tame the soil

LL. cultivatus, p.p. of cultivare to cultivate, fr. cultivus cultivated, fr. L. cultus, p.p. of colere to till, cultivate. Cf. Colony.

imperfect & past participle Cultivated present participle & verbal noun Cultivating

To bestow attention, care, and labor upon, with a view to valuable returns; to till; to fertilize; as, to cultivate soil.
To direct special attention to; to devote time and thought to; to foster; to cherish.
Leisure . . . to cultivate general literature. Wordsworth.
To seek the society of; to court intimacy with.
I ever looked on Lord Keppel as one of the greatest and best men of his age; and I loved and cultivated him accordingly. Burke.
To improve by labor, care, or study; to impart culture to; to civilize; to refine.
To cultivate the wild, licentious savage. Addison.

The mind of man hath need to be prepared for piety and virtue; it must be cultivated to the end. Tillotson.
To raise or produce by tillage; to care for while growing; as, to cultivate corn or grass.