assimilation

[uh-sim-uh-ley-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or process of assimilating, or of absorbing information, experiences, etc..

   the need for quick assimilation of the facts.

2. the state or condition of being assimilated, or of being absorbed into something.

3. the process of adopting the language and culture of a dominant social group or nation, or the state of being socially integrated into the culture of the dominant group in a society.

   assimilation of immigrants into American life.

4. Physiology.,  the conversion of absorbed food into the substance of the body.

5. Botany.,  the total process of plant nutrition, including photosynthesis and the absorption of raw materials.

6. Sociology.,  the merging of cultural traits from previously distinct cultural groups, not involving biological amalgamation.

7. Phonetics.,  the act or process by which a sound becomes identical with or similar to a neighboring sound in one or more defining characteristics, as place of articulation, voice or voicelessness, or manner of articulation, as in for grandpa.

assimilation

1. The conversion of nutrients into living tissue; constructive metabolism.

assimilation

1. The process by which a person or persons acquire the social and psychological characteristics of a group: “Waves of immigrants have been assimilated into the American culture.”

Other Word Forms

• antiassimilation noun
• nonassimilation noun
• reassimilation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of assimilation¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin assimilātiōn- (stem of assimilātiō ). See assimilate, -ion

Example Sentences

But that changed once Tonatiuh got a taste of the demands of assimilation.

From Los Angeles Times

But Superman is more a story about the triumph of assimilation and opportunity.

From Los Angeles Times

Both show how music can be used to build community, but also be exploited as an assimilation tool.

From Salon

Reading “Sinners” as an allegory of cultural assimilation and appropriation is obvious, and it’s also simple enough to get a variety of folks to walk through the door.

From Salon

My generation of Mexican Americans — well on our way to assimilation, feeling little in common with the undocumented immigrants from southern Mexico and Central America who arrived after our parents — instead became radicalized.

From Los Angeles Times