Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Medieval Latin
Origin: , past participle of assimilare, from Latin assimulare 'to make similar', from ad- 'to' + simulare ( SIMULATE)

assimilate

 verb
     
as‧sim‧i‧late
1 [transitive] to completely understand and begin to use new ideas, information etc [= absorb]:
It will take time to assimilate all these facts.
2 [intransitive and transitive] if people assimilate or are assimilated into a country or group, they become part of that group and are accepted by the people in that group
assimilate into
Refugees find it difficult to become assimilated into the community.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary