Link Centre Dictionary

assimilate

as·si·mi·late

UK/əˈsɪm.ɪ.leɪt/ US/ʌˈsɪmʌˌleɪt/ uncommon obsolete rare

verb

1.

take up mentally

  • “he absorbed the knowledge or beliefs of his tribe”
Synonyms
2.

become similar to one''s environment

  • “Immigrants often want to assimilate quickly”
Antonyms
3.

make similar

  • “This country assimilates immigrants very quickly”
Antonyms
4.

take (gas, light or heat) into a solution

Synonyms
5.

become similar in sound

  • “The nasal assimialates to the following consonant”
Antonyms

Origin

First attested in the early 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; Middle English assimilaten (“to become similar; to make like”), from assimilat(e) (“assimilated”, also used as the past participal of assimilaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Late Latin assimilātus, variant of Latin assimulātus (“made similar, imitated”), perfect passive participle of assimulō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ad + simulō (“to imitate, copy”), from similis (“like, similar”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together, one”). Doublet of assemble.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.