rubs off
Wears away slowly
To rub off is to transfer through contact—literally when ink or paint smudges onto skin, figuratively when qualities pass from person to person.
Someone's enthusiasm or bad habits can rub off on those around them: I hope some of her optimism rubs off on me.
The transfer is usually gradual and unintentional.
- contagionDisease spread by contact
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
- inspirationSource of creative impulse
- propagationAct of spreading widely
- peer pressureInfluence from one's equals
bad habits · mimicry · osmosis · erosion · imprint · skin contact · residue · smudge · assimilation · dissemination · influence · good influence · role model · ripple effect · stain · scrape · wears away · abrasion