costume

habit, practice

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Two simple stages show a nervous rescue dog first hesitant beside a vacuum cleaner switched off, then relaxed as its owner gently introduces it during ordinary cleaning.

verb

accustom

uh-KUS-tum/ʌkˈʌstʌm/

To make someone used to something through repeated experience.

Etymology

acLatinto, toward; addition; sometimes emphasis

+customOld Frenchhabit, practice

The pieces suggest bringing something into habitual practice. To accustom people is to make an experience familiar through use, so that it becomes part of what they are used to.

Full entry

Related word entries

accustom