melting pot
A place where different peoples, styles, or cultures are mixed together. / A container used for melting metals.
Noun
pl: melting pots
This term describes a society where different cultures, ethnicities, and religions blend together to create a new, homogenous national identity. It suggests a process of assimilation where individual cultural distinctions are merged into a single, unified whole.
In contemporary sociological discussions, the term is often contrasted with the salad bowl model. While a melting pot implies the loss of original cultural traits to form something new, the salad bowl suggests a multicultural society where different groups coexist while maintaining their distinct cultural identities.
Meanings
Related Words
cruciblemixtureblendamalgamationsegregationhomogeneityseparationisolationassimilationdiversitymulticulturalismintegrationmigrationimmigrationpluralismhybridityfusioncosmopolitanismethnicitycultureheritagesocietycommunitycitizennationalitymeltingmixalloycompositemosaicmetropolisurbanizationglobalizationacculturationinclusiontolerancecoexistenceinterminglesyncretismrefugeediasporasettlementborderpassportvisalanguagedialecttraditioncustombeliefreligionidentityassimilationistpluralistheterogeneityuniformityconvergencedivergencesmelterfurnacecastmoldalloyingsynthesisamalgammingleoverlapintersectioninterculturalismxenophiliacosmopolitedemographicspopulationcensusethnographysociologyanthropology