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assimilate

uh-SIM-uh-layt /əˈsɪmɪleɪt/

verbC1GRESATGMATTOEFLIELTSUPSC

academicformal

To absorb and fully integrate people, ideas, or information into a wider society, culture, or mind.

In cultural contexts, assimilation often carries a negative connotation of forced conformity, where a minority group is expected to abandon its unique heritage.

The story behind the word. 'Assimilate' comes from the Latin 'assimilare,' meaning 'to make like' or 'to bring into agreement.' This is a combination of 'ad-' (to) and 'similis' (like, similar). Historically, it referred to the biological process of digesting food to make it part of the body, which later became a metaphor for absorbing cultures or information into the mind.

Word relationships

absorb: Absorb is a general term for taking something in, whereas assimilate implies a deeper process of making the absorbed material identical to the host.
culturize: Culturize is a rarer term focusing on cultural adaptation, whereas assimilate applies to both cultural groups and cognitive information.

differentiate: Differentiate means to recognize or create a distinction between things, resisting assimilation.
exclude: Exclude means to keep something out, preventing it from ever being absorbed.

Commonly confused with

integrate: Integration allows diverse groups to coexist harmoniously while keeping their identities; assimilation requires them to become virtually identical to the dominant group.

Word family

assimilation (noun): The process of absorbing or becoming like the dominant group.
assimilative (adjective): Having the power or tendency to assimilate.

Collocations

assimilate information
assimilate culture
fully assimilate
pressure to assimilate

Idioms & expressions

assimilate into the mainstream

Example sentences

"Many early immigrant communities resisted pressure to assimilate, choosing instead to preserve their native languages and traditions in private." A sociological analysis of historical immigration.

Memory hook

Look at the middle of the word: 'simil'. It sounds like 'similar'. To assimilate is to make things 'similar' to the dominant group. Assimilate makes you similar.

When not to use

Do not use 'assimilate' when describing a mutual exchange where both cultures change equally; that is closer to integration or hybridization.

Fun facts

In linguistics, 'assimilation' is a common phenomenon where a sound changes to become more like a neighboring sound, such as 'in-' becoming 'im-' before 'possible.'
The cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget used 'assimilation' to describe how children fit new information into existing mental schemas.