integration

American  

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

noun

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

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

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

"I think being able to just talk with the smart glasses without opening the app would be a very nice integration," he said.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

On the other hand, since the contest expanded to the eastern part of the continent in the 2000s, Eurovision has served as a catalyst for European integration, said University of Glasgow expert Paul Jordan.

From Barron's • May 16, 2026

Synergies with unit LPI Capital could create cross-selling and cost-saving opportunities as the integration progresses, Chua says.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

This dynamic is especially true for AI, since the AI buildout and integration of AI technology will have huge benefits for a few companies.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

School Superintendent Virgil Blossom testified for a long time about the details of the school board’s plan for integration, which had taken two years and two hundred meetings to devise.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Related Words

• assimilation