cultivate
v.to work hard to develop a skill, a quality, or a relationship. It can also mean to prepare land and grow plants on it.
v.to foster the growth of something, such as a relationship, skill, or reputation, through deliberate effort. Also used in a literal sense to describe the preparation and use of land for crops.
“She works hard to cultivate a positive image at work.”
“The diplomat spent years trying to cultivate strong ties between the two neighboring countries.”
“Successful leaders often cultivate an environment where employees feel safe to share unconventional ideas without fear of immediate criticism.”
The verb is transitive and requires a direct object. When used figuratively, it implies a slow, intentional process of development.
“When we dug deeper and tested whether these online spaces drive extremism directly, or only through the hostile gender attitudes they cultivate, nearly all of them lost their predictive power.”
“Cultivating a siege mentality is an age-old tactic among managers of sports teams, but it’s fascinating to see how this works from the inside.”
From Medieval Latin cultivātus, perfect passive participle of cultivō (“till, cultivate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from cultīvus (“tilled”), from Latin cultus, perfect passive participle of colō (“till, cultivate”), which comes from earlier quelō, from Proto-Indo-European kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Cognates include Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō) and Sanskrit चरति (cárati). The same Proto-Indo-European root also gave Latin in-quil-īnus (“inhabitant”) and anculus (“servant”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.