acculturation

[ uh-kuhl-chuh-rey-shuhn ]
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noun
  1. the process of sharing and learning the cultural traits or social patterns of another group: Acculturation of immigrants has contributed to the rich cultural diversity of the city.

  2. the result of this process.

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Origin of acculturation

1
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80; ac- + culture + -ation

Other words from acculturation

  • ac·cul·tur·a·tion·al, adjective

Words Nearby acculturation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use acculturation in a sentence

Cultural definitions for acculturation

acculturation

[ (uh-kul-chuh-ray-shuhn) ]


The learning of the ideas, values, conventions, and behavior that characterize a social group. (See socialization.) Acculturation is also used to describe the results of contact between two or more different cultures; a new, composite culture emerges, in which some existing cultural features are combined, some are lost, and new features are generated. Usually one culture is dominant (as in the case of colonization).

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.