integration

American  

[in-ti-grey-shuhn] / ˌɪn tɪˈgreɪ ʃən /

noun

• integrations
  plural

1. an act or instance of combining into an integral whole.

   Synonyms:

   combination

2. an act or instance of integrating a racial, religious, or ethnic group.

3. an act or instance of integrating an organization, place of business, school, etc.

4. Mathematics. the operation of finding the integral of a function or equation, especially solving a differential equation.

5. behavior, as of an individual, that is in harmony with the environment.

6. Psychology. the organization of the constituent elements of the personality into a coordinated, harmonious whole.

7. Genetics. coadaptation.

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integration British  

/ ˌɪntɪˈɡreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of combining or adding parts to make a unified whole

2. the act of amalgamating a racial or religious group with an existing community

3. the combination of previously racially segregated social facilities into a nonsegregated system

4. psychol organization into a unified pattern, esp of different aspects of the personality into a hierarchical system of functions

5. the assimilation of nutritive material by the body during the process of anabolism

6. maths an operation used in calculus in which the integral of a function or variable is determined; the inverse of differentiation

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integration Scientific  

/ ĭn′tĭ-grā′shən /

1. In calculus, the process of calculating an integral. Integration is the inverse of differentiation, since integrating a given function results in a function whose derivative is the given function. Integration is used in the calculation of such things as the areas and volumes of irregular shapes and solids.

2. Compare differentiation

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integration Cultural  

1. The free association of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds (see ethnicity); a goal of the civil rights movement to overcome policies of segregation that have been practiced in the United States.

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Discover More

Those favoring integration of schools by such forceful means as busing or affirmative action have frequently argued that integration of schools will lead to integration of society as a whole. (See separate but equal.)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• de-integration
  noun
• integrationist
  noun
• nonintegration
  noun
• self-integration
  noun
• anti-integration
  adjective
• prointegration
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• integrations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of integration

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin integrātiōn-, stem of integrātiō “renewal,” equivalent to integrāt(us) “renewed, restored” (past participle of integrāre; see integrate ( def. )) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Explanation

Integration occurs when separate people or things are brought together, like the integration of students from all of the district's elementary schools at the new middle school, or the integration of snowboarding on all ski slopes. You may know the word differentiate, meaning "set apart." Integrate is its opposite. When you integrate things, you bring them together. So integration is the act of doing just that, like the integration of African-American students into mixed-race schools after segregation was outlawed in the 1950s, or the integration of computers in businesses that had previously only used paper-based record-keeping.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

integration integrations

Zhu became known for his ardent anti-corruption drive, controversial dismantling of inefficient state-owned firms and integration of China with the global economy.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Ali Kashani, CEO of Serve Robotics, said in an earnings call that the blowup was “caused by changes in the operating model and integration of our fleet.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Pras: Returning from a long-standing injury, limited pre-season games and the recent loan signing of Ronald Araujo all point to a slow integration into the Premier League for the France Under-21 defender.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

However, the Ximalaya integration process is likely to drag down net profit growth and weigh on margins, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Some lessons incorporate the arts, but do not incorporate the learning objectives and other criteria that fully integrate them, while others follow a deeper level of integration.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

From that point on, an entire society becomes thinkable: exchanges of women between groups, asymmetrical integrations, reciprocal or non-reciprocal circulation, alliances, captures, or more brutal forms of intergroup relations.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026

For his own start up, Shah said he would consider building integrations with Google smart glasses so users can easily find events to attend near them.

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

It marked one of the first integrations of generative AI in a major commercial production.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

Citing REA Group, WiseTech, CAR Group, Xero and Pro Medicus as their key picks, the analysts highlight proprietary data, integrations and network effects as important differentiators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

As long as you stick to general science, I'm right on your heels, but please lay off of integrations and all that—most especially stay away from those terrible electrical integrations.

From Spacehounds of IPC by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith

Related Words

• assimilation