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
Derived Forms
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assimilationnoun
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assimilatornoun
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reassimilateverb
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assimilableadjective
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assimilativeadjective
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nonassimilatingadjective
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unassimilatedadjective
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unassimilatingadjective
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well-assimilatedadjective
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assimilablyadverb
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assimilativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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assimilatesimple
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assimilatessimple
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have assimilatedperfect
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has assimilatedperfect
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am assimilatingprogressive
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are assimilatingprogressive
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is assimilatingprogressive
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have been assimilatingperfect progressive
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has been assimilatingperfect progressive
Past
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assimilatedsimple
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had assimilatedperfect
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was assimilatingprogressive
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were assimilatingprogressive
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had been assimilatingperfect progressive
Future
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- ( see similar) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
If you are trying to fit in, you are trying to assimilate. Imported from Latin, assimilate has the word similar within it and in fact, means "to become like something else." If someone moves to another country, he or she will need to assimilate by adapting to and taking in the language, culture and customs of the new place. You can also turn the phrase around to say that a country assimilates immigrants, which means that a place accepts immigrants and allows them to adapt easily. In scientific use, the body assimilates nutrients as a part of digestion.
Vocabulary lists containing assimilate
List 1
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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Lord of the Flies
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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.
See Examples For:
In addition to therapists, she said there are plenty of resources online and international centers to help people assimilate.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
"I don't know if my body just doesn't assimilate the supplements as well, but minoxidil is definitely more effective long-term," she said.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026
The British pound: Britain used to assimilate immigrants well, and this boosted both its population and productivity.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026
Goodland explained that directors generally start with a holistic vision for a given production and assimilate the actors’ performances to serve it: “But from the very beginning, Tina puts the actors’ energy at the center.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
She was from Tanzania but had managed to assimilate into American culture, as she had been in the States for about three years.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Jacques Bouvier added: 'Because rubisco assimilates the sugars which fuel life on Earth, improving this enzyme is one of the most promising avenues to help combat food insecurity.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024
Hazel-May, however, assimilates just fine, and Nella begins to feel increasingly on the outs with those around her.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023
ChatGPT, Microsoft-controlled AI that grows smarter at mimicking human behavior as it assimilates more knowledge in a massive database, presents the illusion of talking with a friend who wants to do your work for you.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 14, 2023
Another characteristic of the Shakespearean romance that Butterworth assimilates is the requirement for magic — the human characters are in such bad straits that a little extra help is needed to resolve the situation.
From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2022
NOTE.—The forms ac-, af-, etc., are euphonic variations of ad-, and follow generally the rule that the final consonant of the prefix assimilates to the initial letter of the root.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
They may have assimilated all too well to the culture of academia and big cities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
The current study shows that those who have assimilated more positive age beliefs often show improvement, Levy said.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026
But immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Latin America, India and Eastern Europe and their more assimilated children won’t have any problems relating to the generational conflicts at the heart of this gentle comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
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 ● Dec. 27, 2025
Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of ‘individuality’ by becoming assimilated into public society.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The U.S. has a strong record of assimilating newcomers, from Asians in San Francisco to Irish in New York to Cubans in Miami, and birthright citizenship has been part of that story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Like a lot of veterans, he had trouble assimilating into the civilian world.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
There is no country in the world better at absorbing and assimilating people, and we should take deep patriotic pride in that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2024
They, too, shifted from plant-based to fungal-based food webs as the main source of their energy, assimilating more than 50 percent brown carbon under warming conditions, compared to 26 percent at control sites.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2024
When people, plants, and animals die, they stop assimilating C14.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
