Definition of ASSIMILATE (original) (raw)
1
a
: to take into the mind and thoroughly understand
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
b
: to make similar
… the only faculty that seems to assimilate man to the immortal gods.—
Joseph Conrad
: to be taken in or absorbed : to become assimilated
Food assimilates better if taken slowly.—Francis Cutler Marshall
What prepositions are used with assimilate?: Usage Guide
When assimilate is followed by a preposition, transitive senses 2a and 2b commonly take to and into and less frequently with; sense 2c regularly takes to; sense 3 most often takes to and sometimes with. The most frequent prepositions used with the intransitive sense are to and into.
Did you know?
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
Examples of assimilate in a Sentence
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That history would allow Moore to assimilate into the Cowboys’ culture seamlessly. —Mike Sando, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025 In fourteen books of short stories, more than fifty of which were published in The New Yorker, Alice created a new form for expressing the way that the past, incompletely assimilated, creates the conditions of life in the present. —Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Either assimilate, leave voluntarily, or be deported. —Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 6 Nov. 2023 The more advanced kids in the class have quietly watched Eflin assimilate. —Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2023 See all Example Sentences for assimilate 
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English assimilaten "to make similar," borrowed from Medieval Latin assimilāre, assimulāre "to make similar, digest, compare," going back to Latin, "to pretend, feign, assume the likeness of, cause to resemble, imitate, portray, liken (to)," from as- as- + similāre "to pretend, assume the appearance of by one's conduct, imitate" — more at simulate
Noun
derivative of assimilate entry 1
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b
Noun
1935, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of assimilate was in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near assimilate
Cite this Entry
“Assimilate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assimilate. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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Last Updated: 11 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
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