Толковый словарь английского языка - assimilation

noun Date: 15th century 1. an act, process, or instance of assimilating, the state of being assimilated, the incorporation or conversion of nutrients into protoplasm that in animals follows digestion and absorption and in higher plants involves both photosynthesis and root absorption, change of a sound in speech so that it becomes identical with or similar to a neighboring sound , the process of receiving new facts or of responding to new situations in conformity with what is already available to consciousness