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amalgamate

[uh-mal-guh-meyt]
See more synonyms for amalgamate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), a·mal·ga·mat·ed, a·mal·ga·mat·ing.
  1. to mix or merge so as to make a combination; blend; unite; combine: to amalgamate two companies.
  2. Metallurgy. to mix or alloy (a metal) with mercury.
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verb (used without object), a·mal·ga·mat·ed, a·mal·ga·mat·ing.
  1. to combine, unite, merge, or coalesce: The three schools decided to amalgamate.
  2. to blend with another metal, as mercury.
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Origin of amalgamate

1635–45 amalgam + -ate1
Related formsa·mal·ga·ma·ble, adjectivea·mal·ga·ma·tive, adjectivea·mal·ga·ma·tor, nounre·a·mal·ga·mate, verb, re·at·ed, re·at·ing.un·a·mal·ga·ma·ble, adjectiveun·a·mal·ga·mat·ed, adjectiveun·a·mal·ga·mat·ing, adjectiveun·a·mal·ga·ma·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

consolidate, incorporate, mingle, alloy, coalesce, unite, merge, fuse, combine, meld, compound, integrate, intermix, admix, ally, pool, network, interface

Examples from the Web for amalgamate

Historical Examples

  • They seemed very shy of each other, and did not amalgamate at all.

    Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 14, July 2, 1870

    Various

  • Mercury does not amalgamate with copper so readily as with gold or silver.

  • But if you amalgamate your business with that of Captain Danvers's company, you will make 25,000.

  • The law cannot possibly lower its standard, nor yet amalgamate with grace.

    Notes on the book of Exodus

    C. H. (Charles Henry) Mackintosh

  • These sometimes fail to amalgamate, and so the artistic precipitation is cloudy.

    Iconoclasts

    James Huneker

British Dictionary definitions for amalgamate

amalgamate

verb
  1. to combine or cause to combine; unite
  2. to alloy (a metal) with mercury
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for amalgamate

v.

1650s, back-formation from amalgamation, or from adjective amalgamate (1640s) from amalgam. Originally in metallurgy; figurative sense of "to unite" (races, etc.) is attested from 1802. Related: Amalgamated; amalgamating. Earlier verb was amalgamen (1540s).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper