ASSIMILATE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Assimilate

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/əsˈɪməlˌeɪt/ Listen

verb

Assimilate v. t. (past & past part. assimilated; pres. part. assimilating)

1.

To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between. "To assimilate our law to the law of Scotland." "Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes Assimilate all objects."

2.

To liken; to compare. (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." "His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons."

Assimilate v. 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."

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."

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Etymology of 'Assimilate'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Assimilate" Quotes from Famous Books

... over which the river sleeps, and where lurk the slimy eel, and speckled frog, and the mud- turtle, whom continual washing cannot cleanse. It is the very same black mud out of which the yellow lily sucks its obscene life and noisome odor. Thus we see, too, in the world that some persons assimilate only what is ugly and evil from the same moral circumstances which supply good and beautiful results—the fragrance of celestial flowers—to ...

— The Old Manse (From "Mosses From An Old Manse") • Nathaniel Hawthorne

... space, then sprang back with an impetuosity that flung him clear off his feet. He fell with a loud grunt, lay for a moment dismayed, then got up and eyed his incomprehensible adversary with a blank stare. He was learning so many strange lessons that it was difficult to assimilate ...

— Kings in Exile • Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts

... pupils. Good teaching consists largely in the skilful adjustment of the new to the old. The teacher must ascertain what the pupils already know, what their interests are, and what matter they may reasonably be expected to apprehend, if he is to have them assimilate properly the facts of the lesson. He must further show sympathy and tact in order to inspire the pupils to their best effort. He must be able to detect unerringly the symptoms of inattention, listlessness, and misbehaviour, ...

— Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education • Ontario Ministry of Education

... be convinced of the wisdom of the new mesure. And education is itself always a slow process. People change their minds slowly. Slowness of action is one of the prices we have to pay for our democracy. On the other hand, an absolute monarchy can act quickly, for there may be but one individual to assimilate the new idea or to be convinced of the wisdom ...

— On the Firing Line in Education • Adoniram Judson Ladd

... definitely set our minds to assimilate the ideas of Jesus, we shall make too little of the heart of God. With Jesus this is the central and crucial reality. He emphasizes the generosity of God. God makes his sun rise on the good and on the bad; he sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45). God's flowers ...

— The Jesus of History • T. R. Glover

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