v. (often foll. by to) Phonet. 1 tr. change (a sound or sounds in a word) to another when the word originally had the same sound repeated, as in cinnamon, orig. cinnamom. 2 intr. (of a sound) be changed in this way. dissimilation n. dissimilatory adj.
[ L dissimilis (as DIS-, similis like), after assimilate ]