imprinted on
Bonded at birth
Imprinted on describes a bond formed through imprinting—the rapid learning process by which young animals attach to whatever they first encounter.
A duckling imprints on its mother, following her instinctively.
The phrase extends to any deep, formative attachment: That summer was imprinted on my memory.
In pop culture, especially the *Twilight* series, imprinting describes an instant, unbreakable romantic bond: He imprinted on her the moment they met.
- instillingGradually introducing ideas
- internalizingMaking beliefs your own
- conditioningLearned behavioral adaptation
- early childhoodFirst years of life
- critical periodOptimal developmental timeframe
associating · attachment · fixing · learning · neural pathways · instinctual behavior · learned behavior · marking · Konrad Lorenz · remembering · duckling · indelible · sense memory · engraving · habituation · influencing · embedding · stamping