assimilation
Other forms: assimilations
Whether you’re talking about ideas or nutrients, assimilation describes the act of taking something in and absorbing it fully.
Assimilation comes from the Latin assimilationem, meaning “likeness" or "similarity.” People of different backgrounds and beliefs undergo assimilation when, through living together, they come to see themselves as part of a larger community, or when a small group is absorbed into, and made part of, a bigger group, such as the Irish immigrants in America in the 19th century. Assimilation can also refer to the absorption of new ideas into existing knowledge.
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the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another
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synonyms:
absorption
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types:
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Americanisation, Americanization
assimilation into American culture
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Anglicisation, Anglicization
the act of anglicizing; making English in appearance
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Europeanisation, Europeanization
assimilation into European culture
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Westernisation, Westernization, westernization
assimilation of Western culture; the social process of becoming familiar with or converting to the customs and practices of Western civilization
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type of:
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social process
a process involved in the formation of groups of persons
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the state of being assimilated; people of different backgrounds come to see themselves as part of a larger national family
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type of:
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relationship
a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties or countries
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relationship
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a linguistic process by which a sound becomes similar to an adjacent sound
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type of:
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linguistic process
a process involved in human language
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linguistic process
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the process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion
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synonyms:
absorption
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types:
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anabolism, constructive metabolism
the synthesis in living organisms of more complex substances (e.g., living tissue) from simpler ones together with the storage of energy
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malabsorption
abnormal absorption of nutrients from the digestive tract
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type of:
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biological process, organic process
a process occurring in living organisms
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anabolism, constructive metabolism
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the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure
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synonyms:
acculturation
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in the theories of Jean Piaget: the application of a general schema to a particular instance
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type of:
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developmental learning
learning that takes place as a normal part of cognitive development
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developmental learning
/əsɪməˈleɪʃɪn/
/æˈsɪmɪleɪʃən/
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Vocabulary lists containing assimilation
Lotus Bloom, a seventh-grade girl who loves the vintage style of the 1970s, learns to speak up and fight for the freedom of expression after facing a dress code violation at school.
After Earth is destroyed by a comet, twelve-year-old Petra Peña wakes up on a new planet and discovers she is the only one who remembers Earth. She must use her stories and her wits to save humanity's legacy.
This nonfiction work delves into the history and legacy of the Tulsa Massacre — one of American history's deadliest acts of racial violence that took place in Oklahoma in 1921.
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