Assimilates

/əˈsɪməleɪts/ verb

Definition

Absorbs and incorporates something new, like learning, or how people from one culture adopt the ways of another culture.

Etymology

From Latin 'assimilare' (ad- 'to' + similis 'similar or alike'). Originally referred to making things similar; in biology and anthropology, it describes the process of absorption and integration.

Kelly Says

Plants assimilate sunlight into energy, immigrants assimilate into new cultures, and your stomach assimilates food—the word works across science, society, and biology because it describes the universal pattern of making 'foreign' things become 'part of you.'

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