assimilate
Americanverb (used with object)
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assimilates,
present (3rd person singular)
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assimilated,
past participle, past
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assimilating
present participle
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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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assimilates,
present (3rd person singular)
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assimilated,
past participle, past
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assimilating
present participle
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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:
It could be a long season ahead but we cannot expect 10 new players to assimilate immediately.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
In addition to therapists, she said there are plenty of resources online and international centers to help people assimilate.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
The incident occurred a day after China put in force a law viewed as the culmination of a long-running campaign to assimilate the country’s ethnic minorities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 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 instruction was intended to assimilate Mollie into white society and transform her into what the authorities conceived of as the ideal woman.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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
He has so far taken all the snaps with the first team, with mixed results, as he assimilates to new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s system.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 2, 2023
Comment: New season, same story: A few key returnees, a handful of talented transfers, and a system that assimilates newcomers as well as any in the land.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2021
There it contributes to partial melting of crustal rock, and thus it assimilates much more felsic material.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
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
And what inspired “Marcriá,” once you assimilated those feelings?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
Germans ignored it out of shame; Jews, living precariously in exile, rejected it as too assimilated and bourgeois.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
In those 1990s clubs and car shows, you could see and feel that Asian Americans weren’t assimilating culture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
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
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
He ceased to work at his tooth and sat still, assimilating the possibilities of irresponsible authority.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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.
