ingrained
adj.describes a habit, belief, or attitude that is so deep and old that it is very hard to change. It is like a root that has grown deep into the ground.
adj.firmly established and difficult to change; deeply embedded within a person's character or a society's culture. Often used to describe psychological or sociological traits.
“The habit of waking up early is ingrained in him.”
“After decades of working in the same industry, certain professional routines become so ingrained that they are performed almost automatically.”
“The researchers argued that these prejudices were deeply ingrained in the local culture, making them resistant to even the most well-funded educational interventions.”
Often follows a linking verb like 'be', 'become', or 'remain', or appears as a participial adjective before a noun.
“Brian Anderson, a Methodist minister with the East Belfast Mission, said the narrative that loyalist communities are losing out to those in republican areas is deeply ingrained.”
“Jaissle also followed the recent but now ingrained tradition of shaking each of his future interrogators’ hands.”
From ingrain + -ed.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.