What does "bred-in-the-bone" mean?

Firmly established or instilled; deep-seated.

What is a synonym for "bred-in-the-bone"?

Common synonyms include: deep-rooted, deep-seated, dyed-in-the-wool, ingrained, inveterate.

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Firmly established or instilled; deep-seated. idiomatic, usually
"They had the kind of bred-in-the-bone manners that were unobtrusively the same for one and all."
2
Inveterate or habitual; long-standing. idiomatic
"Antrim, bred-in-the-bone Republican conservative, has a proud patriotic tradition."

"They had the kind of bred-in-the-bone manners that were unobtrusively the same for one and all."

From the past participle of breed in the bone.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.