v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Assimilated p. pr. & vb. n. Assimilating ] [ L. assimilatus, p. p. of assimilare; ad + similare to make like, similis like. See Similar, Assemble, Assimilate. ] 1. To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

To assimilate our law to the law of Scotland. John Bright. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes
Assimilate all objects. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To liken; to compa&unr_;e. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hence also animals and vegetables may assimilate their nourishment. Sir I. Newton. [ 1913 Webster ]

His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons. Merivale. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To become similar or like something else. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To change and appropriate nourishment so as to make it a part of the substance of the assimilating body. [ 1913 Webster ]

Aliment easily assimilated or turned into blood. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be converted into the substance of the assimilating body; to become incorporated; as, some kinds of food assimilate more readily than others. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am a foreign material, and cannot assimilate with the church of England. J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. tending to or characterized by or causing assimilation (being absorbed into or incorporated).
Syn. -- assimilative, assimilatory. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. assimilatio: cf. F. assimilation. ] 1. The act or process of assimilating or bringing to a resemblance, likeness, or identity; also, the state of being so assimilated; as, the assimilation of one sound to another. [ 1913 Webster ]

To aspire to an assimilation with God. Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

The assimilation of gases and vapors. Sir J. Herschel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol.) The conversion of nutriment into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption, whether in plants or animals. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not conversing the body, not repairing it by assimilation, but preserving it by ventilation. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The term assimilation has been limited by some to the final process by which the nutritive matter of the blood is converted into the substance of the tissues and organs. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. LL. assimilativus, F. assimilatif. ] Tending to, or characterized by, assimilation; that assimilates or causes assimilation; as, an assimilative process or substance. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to assimilate, or produce assimilation; as, assimilatory organs. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. (Physiol.) To subject to disassimilation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Physics) The decomposition of complex substances, within the organism, into simpler ones suitable only for excretion, with evolution of energy, -- a normal nutritional process the reverse of assimilation; downward metabolism; -- now more commonly called catabolism. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

The breaking down of already existing chemical compounds into simpler ones, sometimes called disassimilation. Martin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Physiol.) Having power to disassimilate; of the nature of disassimilation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Disassimilative processes constitute a marked feature in the life of animal cells. McKendrick. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Mal- + assimilation. ] (Physiol.) (a) Imperfect digestion of the several leading constituents of the food. (b) An imperfect elaboration by the tissues of the materials brought to them by the blood. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. To assimilate again. -- Re`as*sim`i*la"tion n. [1913 Webster]