Inculcated With
Is this phrase incorrect or perhaps awkward?
John was inculcated with certain ideas.
The phrase comes naturally to me. But I decided to check, and I can find no examples of it being used.
Ngram viewer does return results but they're very minimal.
The definition of inculcate at Merriam-Webster is:
to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
The synonyms at Thesaurus.com include:
impart, indoctrinate, instill
This seems OK:
John was indoctrinated with certain ideas.
Maybe this is one those kind of things where I've thought about it too much and now nothing sounds right.
Solution 1:
Your usage of inculcate is slightly off.
In the active voice, somebody inculcates something in someone.
In the passive voice (as you've used), something is inculcated in someone [by somebody].
Here is an example:
Active: Cult leaders inculcated certain ideas in John.
Passive: Certain ideas were inculcated in John [by cult leaders].
To be sure, you can find your usage (active: inculcate someone with something; passive: be inculcated [by someone] with something) employed regularly:
Active: ? Cult leaders inculcated John with certain ideas.
Passive: ? John was inculcated [by cult leaders] with certain ideas.
But that usage hasn't really "hit the books" yet—that is, that's not how dictionaries recognize inculcate's usage.
Here is the OED's definition (login required):
inculcate, v. 1. transitive. To endeavour to force (a thing) into or impress (it) on the mind of another by emphatic admonition, or by persistent repetition; to urge on the mind, esp. as a principle, an opinion, or a matter of belief; to teach forcibly. Const. upon, on; †formerly in, into, unto, to.
This is from Cambridge:
to cause someone to have particular beliefs or values by repeating them frequently:
The goal is to inculcate in students a tolerance for people of other religions and races.
to fix beliefs or ideas in someone's mind, especially by repeating them often:
Our coach has worked hard to inculcate a team spirit in/into the players.
Modern lexicographer Bryan Garner says in Garner's Modern English Usage:
Inculcate is sometimes misused for indoctrinate. Although these are both transitive verbs (i.e. they take direct objects), the nature of the objects is different. One inculcates values into people; and one indoctrinates people with certain values . . . H.W. Fowler noted this aberration and called it "a curious mistake" . . . No longer is it curious, but it is still a mistake.
Of course you needn't obey the style and usage "authorities," and it's quite often better to ignore them in spoken, informal English. But they will come sniffing around your papers.
Solution 2:
Yes, that works. "Females were so inculcated with the belief that such clothing was proper, ..." "Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in Sports" By Eileen McDonagh, Laura Pappano.
"... they were frequently presented as “savages and pagans” who had to be “christianized” and inculcated with the morals and values of “civilized” culture" "Sisters of the Academy: Emergent Black Women Scholars in Higher Education" by Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela, Anna Lucille