assimilation

C2 Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #40309

Meanings

1

noun
The process of a group taking on the customs and attitudes of a larger culture.

The community resisted full assimilation in order to keep its traditions alive.
2

noun
The process of taking in and understanding new ideas or information.

Learning a language requires the steady assimilation of new vocabulary.
3

noun
The body's absorption of nutrients from digested food.

Good health depends on the proper assimilation of vitamins and minerals.
4

noun
A sound change in which one speech sound becomes more like a nearby one.

In rapid speech, assimilation makes "handbag" sound like "hambag".

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the process of a group... acculturation

3 noun · the body's absorption of... absorption

Opposites

dissimilation

Word family

Forms assimilations

Derived forms antiassimilationassimilationalassimilationismassimilationistbioassimilationdisassimilationmalassimilationnonassimilationphotoassimilationreassimilation

Related forms acculturation liaison mutationrendakusandhi

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin assimilatio. By surface analysis, assimilate + -ion.

assimilatio la-med

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# assimilation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 40309

## Meanings
1. The process of a group taking on the customs and attitudes of a larger culture.
2. The process of taking in and understanding new ideas or information.
3. The body's absorption of nutrients from digested food.
4. A sound change in which one speech sound becomes more like a nearby one.

## Examples
- The community resisted full assimilation in order to keep its traditions alive.
- Learning a language requires the steady assimilation of new vocabulary.
- Good health depends on the proper assimilation of vitamins and minerals.
- In rapid speech, assimilation makes "handbag" sound like "hambag".

## Antonyms
- dissimilation

## Derived Forms
- antiassimilation
- assimilational
- assimilationism
- assimilationist
- bioassimilation
- disassimilation
- malassimilation
- nonassimilation
- photoassimilation
- reassimilation

## Related Forms
- acculturation
- liaison
- mutation
- rendaku
- sandhi

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: assimilatio

## Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin assimilatio. By surface analysis, assimilate + -ion.

## AI Etymology
Assimilation is borrowed from Medieval Latin assimilatio. By surface analysis, assimilate + -ion. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include assimilatio (la-med). Current senses include the process of a group taking on the customs and attitudes of a larger culture, the process of taking in and understanding new ideas or information, and the body's absorption of nutrients from digested food. The wider family includes derived forms such as antiassimilation, assimilational, assimilationism, assimilationist, and bioassimilation and related words such as acculturation, liaison, mutation, rendaku, and sandhi.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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assimilation

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