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Webster 1913 Edition


Assimilate

As-sim′i-late

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Assimilated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Assimilating
.]
[L.
assimilatus
, p. p. of
assimilare
;
ad
+
similare
to make like,
similis
like. See
Similar
,
Assemble
,
Assimilate
.]
1.
To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between.
Sir M. Hale.
To
assimilate
our law to the law of Scotland.
John Bright.
Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes
Assimilate
all objects.
Cowper.
2.
To liken; to compa[GREEK]e.
[R.]
3.
To appropriate and transform or incorporate into the substance of the assimilating body; to absorb or appropriate, as nourishment;
as, food is
assimilated
and converted into organic tissue
.
Hence also animals and vegetables may
assimilate
their nourishment.
Sir I. Newton.
His mind had no power to
assimilate
the lessons.
Merivale.

As-sim′i-late

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To become similar or like something else.
[R.]
2.
To change and appropriate nourishment so as to make it a part of the substance of the assimilating body.
Aliment easily
assimilated
or turned into blood.
Arbuthnot.
3.
To be converted into the substance of the assimilating body; to become incorporated;
as, some kinds of food
assimilate
more readily than others
.
I am a foreign material, and cannot
assimilate
with the church of England.
J. H. Newman.

Webster 1828 Edition


Assimilate

ASSIM'ILATE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. assimilo, of ad and similis, like. See Similar.]
1.
To bring to a likeness; to cause to resemble.
2.
To convert into a like substance; as, food is assimilated by conversion into animal substances, flesh, chyle, blood, &c.

ASSIM'ILATE

, v.i.
1.
To become similar.
2.
To be converted into a like substance.

Definition 2024


assimilate

assimilate

English

Verb

assimilate (third-person singular simple present assimilates, present participle assimilating, simple past and past participle assimilated)

  1. To incorporate nutrients into the body, especially after digestion.
    Food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue.
    • Isaac Newton
      Hence also animals and vegetables may assimilate their nourishment.
  2. To incorporate or absorb knowledge into the mind.
    The teacher paused in her lecture to allow the students to assimilate what she had said.
    • Merivale
      His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons.
  3. To absorb a group of people into a community.
    The aliens in the science-fiction film wanted to assimilate human beings into their own race.
  4. To compare a thing to something similar.
  5. To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between.
    • John Bright
      to assimilate our law to the law of Scotland
    • Cowper
      Fast falls a fleecy shower; the downy flakes / Assimilate all objects.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir M. Hale to this entry?)

Synonyms

  • (incorporate or absorb knowledge into the mind): process
  • (absorb a group of people into a community): integrate

Translations

Noun

assimilate

  1. Something that is or has been assimilated.
    • 2005, Ep Heuvelink, Tomatoes (ISBN 0851993966), page 65:
      At low light intensity, high temperature delays the first flower initiation, as assimilate supply is limiting and high temperature reduces the amount of assimilate available in the plant[.]
    • 2012, A. Läuchli, R.L. Bieleski, Inorganic Plant Nutrition (ISBN 3642688853), page 83:
      the growing root and ectomycorrhizas both act as assimilate sinks

Italian

Verb

assimilate

  1. second-person plural present of assimilare
  2. second-person plural imperative of assimilare

Latin

Verb

assimilāte

  1. first-person plural present active imperative of assimilō