dissimilation
the act of making or becoming unlike.
Phonetics. the process by which a speech sound becomes different from or less like a neighboring sound, as pilgrim [pil-grim] /ˈpɪl grɪm/ from Latin peregrīnus [per-e-gree-noos], /ˌpɛr ɛˈgri nʊs/, and purple [pur-puhl] /ˈpɜr pəl/ from Old English purpure [poor-poo-re], /ˈpʊər pʊ rɛ/, or disappears entirely because of a like sound in another syllable, as in the pronunciation [guhv-uh-ner] /ˈgʌv ə nər/ for governor.: Compare assimilation (def. 7).
Biology. catabolism.
Origin of dissimilation
1Words Nearby dissimilation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dissimilation in a sentence
The sounds most frequently affected by dissimilation are those represented by the letters l, n, and r. Fr.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.) | Ernest WeekleyWe have seen (p. 57) that the letters l, n, r are particularly subject to dissimilation and metathesis.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.) | Ernest WeekleyIn the family name Hansom, for Hanson, we have dissimilation of n (see p. 57).
The Romance of Words (4th ed.) | Ernest WeekleyLet us first of all glance at some of the most important phenomena in connection with assimilation and dissimilation.
An Introduction to Psychology | Wilhelm Max WundtTo cause the opposite process of dissimilation, we draw one large sector among several smaller sectors.
An Introduction to Psychology | Wilhelm Max Wundt
British Dictionary definitions for dissimilation
/ (ˌdɪsɪmɪˈleɪʃən) /
the act or an instance of making dissimilar
phonetics the alteration or omission of a consonant as a result of being dissimilated
biology a less common word for catabolism
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
Browse