assimilation
This term describes the act of blending into a larger whole, whether that process is social, biological, or cognitive. In a sociological sense, it often carries a heavy connotation of loss, implying that a minority group must abandon its original heritage to fit into a dominant culture. In technical fields like linguistics or biology, the word is neutral and descriptive. It refers to the mechanical or chemical process of making one thing similar to another, such as a sound shifting to match its neighbor or nutrients being integrated into cellular tissue.
Meanings
The process by which a person or group acquires the social and psychological characteristics of a dominant group, often losing their original cultural identity.
"The government encouraged the assimilation of immigrants into the national culture."
The process of taking in and fully understanding information or ideas so that they become part of one's own knowledge.
"The student struggled with the assimilation of the complex mathematical theories presented in the lecture."