Amalgamizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To unify diverse elements by merging them into a single entity
2. Joins several different parts or elements together to form one whole
3. Brings together separate things or ideas into a single combined unit

Etymology: "Amalgamizes" is the third-person singular form of "amalgamize," a verb that means to combine separate things into one unit. The verb is built from "amalgam," which in turn comes from medieval Latin "amalgama," a term for a mercury alloy, and the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun into a verb meaning to make or treat in a certain way. So the verb means, literally, to turn things into an amalgam. The noun "amalgam" was used for centuries in its metallurgical sense, describing the mixture of mercury with another metal, a substance that was important in gold and silver processing. Its figurative use, a blend of disparate parts, came later, and the verb followed that figurative path. The surprise lies in the material: a word for a liquid metal alloy became the everyday image of people or ideas fused into one whole.

Synonyms: blends, combines, merges, fuses, unites

Antonyms: separates, divides, dissociates, disconnects, isolates