Disassimilates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cause sounds or linguistic features to become less alike in their articulation or properties ; to undo a phonetic process where sounds have become more similar to neighboring sounds
2. To make adjacent or related sounds progressively more distinct from one another ; to revert a linguistic change where sounds had merged or grown more alike
3. To reduce the similarity between sounds or features in speech ; to counteract assimilation by making phonetically related elements diverge from each other

Etymology: "Disassimilates" is the third-person singular present form of "disassimilate," which is formed by attaching the prefix "dis-" to "assimilate." The prefix, from Latin, carries the sense of reversal or removal, so the base word's meaning of making something similar or absorbing it into a larger whole is undone. To disassimilate is to separate something that has been absorbed or made alike again, so that it regains its distinct character. The base word, "assimilate," comes from the Latin "assimilare," meaning to make similar to, built from "ad-" (to) and "similis" (like). Over time English used "assimilate" for both physical absorption, as with food becoming part of the body, and social absorption, as with a group adopting the customs of a larger culture. The reversing prefix therefore pairs naturally with both senses, since a substance can be broken back down or a community can be separated from the culture it had joined.

Synonyms: catabolize

Antonyms: assimilate