assimilate
/əˈsɪm.ɪ.leɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.05 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
Example Sentences
- "Food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue."
- "Hence also it may be, that the Parts of Animals and Vegetables preserve their several Forms, and assimilate their Nourishment; [...]"
- "In the living state, the body is observed to receive aliment; to assimilate a part; to evacuate what is redundant or useless; [...]"
- "The teacher paused in her lecture to allow the students to assimilate what she had said."
- "His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons."
- "A good modern work on this subject is needed, preferably by someone who understands both the Bible and human sexuality, but Sex and the Bible isn't it. I'm not sure what went wrong. Larue has read the literature, but seems not to have assimilated it."
Etymology
First attested in the early 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; Middle English assimilaten (“to become similar; to make like”), from assimilat(e) (“assimilated”, also used as the past participal of assimilaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Late Latin assimilātus, variant of Latin assimulātus (“made similar, imitated”), perfect passive participle of assimulō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ad + simulō (“to imitate, copy”), from similis (“like, similar”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together, one”). Doublet of assemble.
Origin
- Source language: Middle English
- First known use: First attested in the early 15ᵗʰ century
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈsɪm.ɪ.leɪt/
- British English: /əˈsɪm.ɪ.leɪt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
assimilates (present, singular)
assimilating (participle, present)
assimilated (participle, past)
assimilated (past)
more assimilate (comparative)
most assimilate (superlative)