n.
Pronunciation: ə - ˌ si-m ə - ' l ā -sh ə n
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1 a : an act, process, or instance of assimilating b : the state of being assimilated
2 : the incorporation or conversion of nutrients into protoplasm that in animals follows digestion and absorption and in higher plants involves both photosynthesis and root absorption
3 : change of a sound in speech so that it becomes identical with or similar to a neighboring sound <the usual assimilation of \ z \ to \ sh \ in the phrase his shoe >
4 : the process of receiving new facts or of responding to new situations in conformity with what is already available to consciousness