assimilate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to take in and incorporate as one's own; absorb.
He assimilated many new experiences on his European trip.
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to bring into conformity with the customs, attitudes, etc., of a dominant social group, nation, or the like; adapt or adjust.
to assimilate the new immigrants.
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Physiology. to convert (food) to substances suitable for incorporation into the body and its tissues.
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to cause to resemble (usually followed by to orwith ).
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to compare; liken (usually followed by to orwith ).
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Phonetics. to modify by assimilation.
verb (used without object)
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to be or become absorbed.
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to conform or adjust to the customs, attitudes, etc., of a dominant social group, nation, or the like.
The new arrivals assimilated easily and quickly.
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Physiology. (of food) to be converted into the substance of the body; be absorbed into the system.
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to bear a resemblance (usually followed by to orwith ).
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Phonetics. to become modified by assimilation.
noun
verb
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(tr) to learn (information, a procedure, etc) and understand it thoroughly
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(tr) to absorb (food) and incorporate it into the body tissues
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(intr) to become absorbed, incorporated, or learned and understood
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to bring or come into harmony; adjust or become adjusted
the new immigrants assimilated easily
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to become or cause to become similar
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(usually foll by to) phonetics to change (a consonant) or (of a consonant) to be changed into another under the influence of one adjacent to it
(n) often assimilates to ŋ before (k), as in ``include''
Other Word Forms
- assimilable adjective
- assimilably adverb
- assimilation noun
- assimilative adjective
- assimilatively adverb
- assimilator noun
- nonassimilating adjective
- reassimilate verb
- unassimilated adjective
- unassimilating adjective
- well-assimilated adjective
Etymology
Origin of assimilate
First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin assimilātus “likened to, made like” (past participle of assimilāre ), equivalent to as- as- + simil- ( similar ) + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Being assimilated,” the author writes, “placed you at a crossroads.”
Like any other hive mind, the Others have a biological imperative to assimilate the immune, whether the immune wants to be integrated or not.
From Salon
Electricity eventually assimilated into the economy and our consciousness, outlets everywhere.
Just as his own immigrant forebears assimilated and their children were average, upwardly mobile, all-American citizens, so too are the more recent immigrants.
From Salon
I came to England when I was 1½, and you try and assimilate, you try and fit in.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
