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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

assimilation en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃən/

Etymology

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

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) The act of assimilating or the state of being assimilated.
    • --France swarms with Gracchus's and Publicolas, who by imaginary assimilations of acts, which a change of manners has rendered different, fancy themselves more than equal to their prototypes. 1797, An English Lady, A Residence in France During the Years 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795,:
    • His work generally is full of assimilations and quotations from art that is not Mexican, and he's said, "Nationalism has nothing to do with my work. 1996 January 26, Bertha Husband, “Double Identity”, in Chicago Reader:
  2. (countable, uncountable) The metabolic conversion of nutrients into tissue.
    • We have great need to be careful in these assimilations; some kinds of food are rich but not easily digested. 1908, Washington Gladden, The Church and Modern Life:
  3. (broadly, countable, uncountable) The absorption of new ideas into an existing cognitive structure.
  4. (countable, uncountable) A sound change process by which the phonetics of a speech segment becomes more like that of another segment in a word (or at a word boundary), so that a change of phoneme occurs.
    • Hence, rather than being the result of mishearing and assimilation, the application of Hobson-Jobson to the Muharram was intentionally disparaging. 2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look At `Hobson-Jobson'”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27, number 1, page 59:
  5. (countable, qualifier:cultural studies, uncountable) The adoption, by a minority group, of the customs and attitudes of the dominant culture.
    • Assimilation was one of the words they used for Indians becoming white in order to survive, in order that they might not be killed for being Indians. 2024, Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars, Harvill Secker, page 55:
    • I do not use those terms to describe the purpose or the effects of particular federal Indian law doctrines in promoting the assimilation of Indians and Indian tribes into non-Indian culture or the general American polity. 2024 September 30, Michael Doran, “EXCEPTIONALISM AND ASSIMILATIONISM IN FEDERAL INDIAN LAW”, in Stanford Law School, volume 20, number 2, page 269, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2025:
    • After centuries of British cultural assimilation, a majority of Irish now speak English instead of Irish.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
assimilations Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

dissimilation

Deriveds

language assimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · reassimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · left-to-right assimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · antiassimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · assimilationism (other terms derived from "assimilation") · malassimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · regressive assimilation · benevolent assimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · Yorkshire assimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · assimilationist (other terms derived from "assimilation") · assimilational (other terms derived from "assimilation") · anticipatory assimilation · obliterative assimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · disassimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · perseverative assimilation · nonassimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · progressive assimilation · photoassimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · right-to-left assimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation") · bioassimilation (other terms derived from "assimilation")

Relateds

acculturation · rendaku · liaison · sandhi · mutation

Translations (98)

grc ἀφομοίωσις (act or state) · ko 동화 (phonology: sound change process) · ca assimilació (act or state) · ka დამსგავსება (phonology: sound change process) · de Assimilation (metabolic conversion) · el αφομοίωση (act or state) · bg поглъщане (act or state) · fi assimilaatio (phonology: sound change process) · fr assimilation (phonology: sound change process) · kk ықпал (phonology: sound change process) · fi rinnastaminen (act or state) · ko 동화 (act or state) · fi omaksuminen (adoption of dominant culture) · sh asimilácija (metabolic conversion) · sq asimilim (phonology: sound change process) · cmn 吸收 (act or state) · ja 同化 (metabolic conversion) · pt assimilação (metabolic conversion) · fi sulauttaminen (act or state) · pl upodobnienie (phonology: sound change process) · fi rinnastuminen (act or state) · cmn 同化作用 (metabolic conversion) · ja 同化 (act or state) · ro asimilație (act or state) · ar تَمَاثُل (phonology: sound change process) · pl asymilacja (adoption of dominant culture) · bg асимилация (act or state) · ko 동화 (metabolic conversion) · da assimilering (act or state) · ne समीभवन (phonology: sound change process) · gl asimilación (act or state) · fi omaksuminen (absorption of new ideas) · id asimilasi (act or state) · sq përngjashmim (phonology: sound change process) · cmn 吸收新知 (absorption of new ideas) · ar مُمَاثَلَة (phonology: sound change process) · hu asszimiláció (adoption of dominant culture) · ru ассимиля́ция (act or state) · fa همگونی (phonology: sound change process) · oc assimilacion (act or state) · de Assimilation (phonology: sound change process) · fi sisäistäminen (act or state) · fi assimilaatio (act or state) · fi omaksuminen (act or state) · ka ასიმილაცია (phonology: sound change process) · cmn 同化 (metabolic conversion) · da assimilation (adoption of dominant culture) · cmn 同化 (act or state) · el αφομοίωση (metabolic conversion) · fi imeyttäminen (act or state) · hu hasonulás (phonology: sound change process) · sh asimilácija (act or state) · fi imeytyminen (act or state) · id asimilasi (metabolic conversion) · es asimilación (act or state) · cmn 認知同化 /认知同化 (absorption of new ideas) · id asimilasi (adoption of dominant culture) · kk ықпал (adoption of dominant culture) · fi sulautuminen (act or state) · el αφομοίωση (adoption of dominant culture) · nb assimilering (act or state) · hy առնմանություն (phonology: sound change process) · ro asimilare (act or state) · ru усвое́ние (metabolic conversion) · id asimilasi (phonology: sound change process) · cmn 同化作用 (phonology: sound change process) · mk едначење по звучност (phonology: sound change process) · pl asymilacja (absorption of new ideas) · de Angleichung (metabolic conversion) · pl asymilacja (metabolic conversion) · pt assimilação (act or state) · ga comhshamhlú (phonology: sound change process) · el αφομοίωση (phonology: sound change process) · tr asimilasyon (act or state) · el αφομοίωση (absorption of new ideas) · cmn 文化同化 (adoption of dominant culture) · bg усвояване (metabolic conversion) · vi đồng hoá (phonology: sound change process) · de Assimilation (act or state) · de Angleichung (act or state) · pt assimilação (phonology: sound change process) · vi đồng hoá (act or state) · nn assimilering (act or state) · bg поглъщане (metabolic conversion) · kk ассимиляция (phonology: sound change process) · fi assimiloituminen (act or state) · pl asymilacja (phonology: sound change process) · sv assimilering (act or state) · az uyuşma (phonology: sound change process) · pl asymilacja (act or state) · ru ассимиля́ция (phonology: sound change process) · fi ruoansulatus (metabolic conversion) · cy cymathiad (phonology: sound change process) · tl paghiangay (metabolic conversion) · cmn 語音同化 /语音同化 (phonology: sound change process) · br heñveladur (phonology: sound change process) · cy cymhathiad (phonology: sound change process) · cmn 社會同化 /社会同化 (adoption of dominant culture)