assimilate
1 of 2verb
as·sim·i·late ə-ˈsi-mə-ˌlāt 
assimilated; assimilating
transitive verb
1
a
: to take into the mind and thoroughly understand
assimilate information
Students need to assimilate new concepts.
b
: to take in and utilize as nourishment : to absorb into the system
The body assimilates digested food.
2
a
: to absorb into the cultural tradition of a population or group
… the belief that tolerant hosts would be able to assimilate immigrants of whatever creed or colour.
Brian Holmes
Brian Holmes b
: to make similar
… the only faculty that seems to assimilate man to the immortal gods. Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad c
phonetics : to alter by the process of assimilation (see assimilation sense 3)
3
: compare, liken
intransitive verb
: to be taken in or absorbed : to become assimilated
Food assimilates better if taken slowly. Francis Cutler Marshall
Francis Cutler Marshall assimilator
ə-ˈsi-mə-ˌlā-tər
noun assimilate
2 of 2noun
as·sim·i·late ə-ˈsi-mə-lət -ˌlāt
-ˌlāt : something that is assimilated
Did you know?
Linguistic assimilation?
There are a handful of words in English that are examples of themselves, representatives of the very things that they describe. One such word is sesquipedalian ("having many syllables" or "characterized by the use of long words"). Another example, in a slightly less obvious fashion, is assimilate.When used as a technical word to describe a certain process of language change, assimilate refers to the habit that some sounds have of becoming more like the sounds that are close to them in a word (see assimilation, sense 3). For instance, the original spelling of immovable in English was inmovable, and over time the n began to sound more like its neighboring m, to the point that it actually became that letter.
Something similar occurred before assimilate was a word in English. Assimilate comes from the Latin prefix ad- (meaning "to, towards") and similis ("similar"). Over time the d of the prefix ad- assimilated itself with the s of similis.
Synonyms
Verb
- analogize
- bracket
- compare
- equate
- liken
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb Over time, most of the inhabitants of the "Little Italies" … assimilated rapidly to the society … Stephan Thernstrom, Times Literary Supplement, 26 May 2000 Those groups were eagerly assimilating into the larger culture and rejecting their own cuisine … Corby Kummer, New York Times Book Review, 16 Aug. 1998 The mistaken attempts to assimilate Lindner's paintings into the Pop Art movement in the 1960s … Hilton Kramer, Arts & Antiques, January 1997 Children need to assimilate new ideas. There was a lot of information to assimilate at school. Schools were used to assimilate the children of immigrants. They found it hard to assimilate to American society. Many of these religious traditions have been assimilated into the culture. See More
Stephan Thernstrom, Times Literary Supplement, 26 May 2000 Those groups were eagerly assimilating into the larger culture and rejecting their own cuisine … Corby Kummer, New York Times Book Review, 16 Aug. 1998 The mistaken attempts to assimilate Lindner's paintings into the Pop Art movement in the 1960s … Hilton Kramer, Arts & Antiques, January 1997 Children need to assimilate new ideas. There was a lot of information to assimilate at school. Schools were used to assimilate the children of immigrants. They found it hard to assimilate to American society. Many of these religious traditions have been assimilated into the culture. See More Recent Examples on the Web WIRED, 14 Sep. 2022 Golijov turned the story into a piercing song cycle premiered and released on album by Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, which could assimilate its multicultural influences, from Delta Blues to Middle Eastern sounds. Brett Campbell | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 1 Sep. 2022 And both Orchingwa and Johnson say that understanding the root causes is critical to making sure former inmates assimilate back into society. Ali Fazal, Fortune, 13 July 2022 And the ones who assimilate fastest and whose children improve their lot the most are often the ones who faced the most contempt upon arrival. Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 During the most somber overseas visit of his pontificate, Francis has offered a series of apologies this week for the cruelty of Canada’s residential school system, which aimed to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children into Christian culture. Chico Harlan, Washington Post, 29 July 2022 The goal was to assimilate them into Christian society. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 26 July 2022 The stated aim of the schools, which operated between 1831 and 1996, was to assimilate indigenous children. Reuters, NBC News, 17 July 2022 The 20-year-old Wiradjuri woman's grandmother and great grandmother were part of the Stolen Generations — where Aboriginal children were taken from their homes by white people and placed in settlements in a bid to assimilate them. Alicia Vrajlal, refinery29.com, 7 July 2022 Glenn Llopis, Forbes, 26 June 2021 Now, the pressure is on resident advisers and others to help the Class of 2023 assimilate. Nick Anderson, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2019 According to Sessions, a good immigrant assimilates. Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, 6 Sep. 2017 See More
Verb
The protagonists of Bliss Montage are middle-class Chinese-American women who assimilate easily into white society. WIRED, 14 Sep. 2022 Golijov turned the story into a piercing song cycle premiered and released on album by Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, which could assimilate its multicultural influences, from Delta Blues to Middle Eastern sounds. Brett Campbell | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 1 Sep. 2022 And both Orchingwa and Johnson say that understanding the root causes is critical to making sure former inmates assimilate back into society. Ali Fazal, Fortune, 13 July 2022 And the ones who assimilate fastest and whose children improve their lot the most are often the ones who faced the most contempt upon arrival. Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 During the most somber overseas visit of his pontificate, Francis has offered a series of apologies this week for the cruelty of Canada’s residential school system, which aimed to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children into Christian culture. Chico Harlan, Washington Post, 29 July 2022 The goal was to assimilate them into Christian society. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 26 July 2022 The stated aim of the schools, which operated between 1831 and 1996, was to assimilate indigenous children. Reuters, NBC News, 17 July 2022 The 20-year-old Wiradjuri woman's grandmother and great grandmother were part of the Stolen Generations — where Aboriginal children were taken from their homes by white people and placed in settlements in a bid to assimilate them. Alicia Vrajlal, refinery29.com, 7 July 2022 Noun
With deregulation in the 1980s, the focus of the training shifted to helping women and people of color assimilate into existing corporate cultures. Glenn Llopis, Forbes, 26 June 2021 Now, the pressure is on resident advisers and others to help the Class of 2023 assimilate. Nick Anderson, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2019 According to Sessions, a good immigrant assimilates. Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, 6 Sep. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English, from Medieval Latin assimilatus, past participle of assimilare, from Latin assimulare to make similar, from ad- + simulare to make similar, simulate
First Known Use
Verb
1671, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b
Noun
1935, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
assimilate
verb
as·sim·i·late ə-ˈsi-mə-ˌlāt
assimilated; assimilating
1
: to become or cause to become part of a different group or country
She was completely assimilated into her new country.
2
: to take in and make part of a larger thing
The body assimilates nutrients in food.
3
: to learn thoroughly
assimilate new ideas
Medical Definition
assimilate 1 of 2
verb
as·sim·i·late ə-ˈsim-ə-ˌlāt
assimilated; assimilating
transitive verb
1
: to take in and utilize as nourishment : absorb into the system
2
: to absorb into the cultural tradition of a population or group
the community assimilated many immigrants
intransitive verb
1
: to become absorbed or incorporated into the system
some foods assimilate more readily than others
2
: to become culturally assimilated
assimilate
2 of 2noun
as·sim·i·late -lət, -ˌlāt
: something that is assimilated
assimilates
verb
1
as in compares
to describe as similar assimilated the 19th-century American captains of industry and commerce to the medieval barons who exorbitantly taxed shipping along the Rhine Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- compares
- equates
- refers
- analogizes
- connects
- likens
- links
- relates
- brackets
- alludes
- associates
- parallels
- equals
- couples
- matches
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- contrasts
2
as in understands
to have a clear idea of still trying to assimilate the doctor's diagnosis of my heart condition Synonyms & Similar Words
- understands
- knows
- deciphers
- comprehends
- recognizes
- sees
- grasps
- appreciates
- perceives
- conceives
- discerns
- realizes
- gets
- apprehends
- senses
- intuits
- decodes
- beholds
- seizes
- makes
- registers
- twigs
- absorbs
- digs
- cognizes
- groks
- catches
- digests
- makes out
- savvies
- penetrates
- tumbles (to)
- cottons (to or on to)
- picks up on
- compasses
- catches on (to)
- fathoms
- takes in
- pierces
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- misses
- misunderstands
- misinterprets
- misreads
- misconstrues
- misconceives
- mistakes
- misapprehends
- misperceives
3
as in integrates
to make a part of a body or system social workers will need time to assimilate the new arrivals into the community Synonyms & Similar Words
- integrates
- incorporates
- embodies
- absorbs
- co-opts
- amalgamates
- merges
- intermingles
- commingles
- combines
- mingles
- blends
- accustoms
- naturalizes
- habituates
- fuses
- conditions
- acculturates
- enculturates