assimilate Hear it!

assimilate Definition

as·simi·late (ə sim′ə lāt′)

transitive verb -·lat′ed, -·lat′·ing

  1. to change (food) into a form that can be taken up by, and made part of, the body tissues; absorb into the body
  2. to absorb and incorporate into one's thinking
  3. to absorb (groups of different cultures) into the main cultural body
  4. to make like or alike; cause to resemble: with to
  5. Now Rare to compare or liken
  6. Linguis. to cause to undergo assimilation

Etymology: ME assimilaten < L assimilatus, pp. of assimilare < ad-, to + similare, make similar < similis, like: see same

intransitive verb

  1. to become like or alike
  2. to be absorbed and incorporated
  3. Linguis. to undergo assimilation

assimilate Related Forms
as·sim′i·lable (-ə lə bəl) adjective
assimilate Synonyms

assimilate

v.

  1. To absorb

    take up, digest, osmose; see absorb 1.

  2. To understand

    grasp, learn, sense; see learn 1, understand 1.

  3. To adjust

    adapt, acclimatize, accustom; see conform.

assimilate Usage Examples

Object

  • immigrant: Assimilating immigrants is hard because of the opposition of the people they're trying to assimilate into.
  • nutrient: But how does the human body assimilate the nutrients contained in the pills and in the patches?
  • knowledge: In short, people assimilate new knowledge by producing cognitive structures that are similar to the experiences they are engaged in.
  • concept: Information is repeated and regular pauses help the children assimilate the concepts they have heard.
  • lesson: The children thus assimilated another graphic lesson in gravity.

Used with why or when

  • what: After each contribution there will be a silent pause to assimilate what has been said and to perceive what rightly follows.

Preposition: into

  • mainstream: The trouble is that those balances have been eroded, and the sport has been assimilated into the mainstream of business.
  • society: How far should such groups be expected to assimilate into the society of which they have become a part?
  • culture: I came to Scotland to assimilate into the Scottish culture, a heritage to be proud of.
  • community: By supporting individuals and groups who provide language teaching and translation, the group strives to enable migrants to assimilate into the community.
  • system: We would hope that these existing rights can be assimilated into the new system without adverse impact on the existing three water authorities.
  • model: Otherwise it will quickly be assimilated into other models.

Adjective complement

  • more: He emphasized the importance of being direct using bullet points - but also that no student can assimilate more than three negative points.

Modifying Another Word

  • readily: They were readily assimilated into the life of the new nation.
  • easily: In addition he pulled together the outcomes of the event in a creative, easily assimilated way.
  • quickly: They home in on the entries they can assimilate quickly.
  • rapidly: Complex arguments were reduced to simple symbols, and thus more rapidly assimilated.
  • gradually: But the general mood of the Mess members was one of acceptance and we were gradually assimilated into Mess life.
  • thoroughly: This was especially true in rural areas, where the weight of reformation thinking had not been thoroughly assimilated.