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dissimilate

dis·si·mi·late

UK/dɪˈsɪmɪleɪt/ uncommon rare

verb

1.

become dissimilar by changing the sound qualities

  • “These consonants dissimilate”
Antonyms
2.
3.

become dissimilar or less similar

  • “These two related tribes of people gradually dissimilated over time”
Antonyms

Origin

First attested in 1841; borrowed from Medieval Latin dissimilātus, perfect passive participle of dissimilō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), hypercorrected form of Classical Latin dissimulō, from dis- + simulō, from similis (“similar, the same as”); the vocalism was perhaps influenced by assimilate, compare dissimulate. Cognate with French dissimiler; doublet of dissemble, dissimulate, and dissimule.

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