Assimilate

As·sim·i·late

Assimilate

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Assimilated; p. pr. & vb. n. Assimilating

  1. To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between.
    To assimilate our law to the law of Scotland.
    — John Bright.
    Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes Assimilate all objects.
  2. To liken; to compae. [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.
    — Merivale.

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.