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

A January integration deal between Damascus and the Kurdish administration crushed Kurdish aspirations for self-rule and still raises concerns for many from the minority group.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

He initially issued a restraining order, followed by a more lengthy preliminary injunction that ordered Nexstar to halt its integration while the court case was pending.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

N Chandrasekaran, Air India chairman, said: "Having completed the initial phase of stabilisation, integration, and fleet commitments under Campbell's guidance, Air India is now entering a critical execution and expansion era."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Such a company would already have “paying customers, factory access and integration experience.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

I don’t know if I can do this integration thing forever.

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

When Meta announced the feature days ago, it said it was limited to Instagram, but more AI features and integrations were planned for WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

The integrations are off by default—you have to opt in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

Thus we have integrations which arise from the simple growth of adjacent parts that perform like functions: as, for instance, the coalescence of Manchester with its calico-weaving suburbs.

From Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I by Spencer, Herbert

Related Words

• assimilation