as·sim·i·late
ə sI mə leIt
transitive verb
1. to absorb and incorporate (knowledge, experience, or the like).
EXAMPLE: She’d studied a great deal, but she needed more time to assimilate the information before the oral exam.
2. to metabolize (food); digest.
3. to absorb and incorporate (an ethnically distinct group) into the prevailing culture.
4. in phonetics, to modify (a sound) to make it resemble a linguistically adjacent sound.
See full entry
intransitive verb
1. to be or become absorbed or incorporated.
2. of food, to be or become absorbed into an organism’s system.
3. to adapt and conform. Some immigrant groups assimilate easily, while others cling to their old ways.