noun
- the act of making or becoming unlike.
- Phonetics. the process by which a speech sound becomes different from or less like a neighboring sound, as pilgrim [pil-grim] /ˈpɪl grɪm/ from Latin peregrīnus [per-e-gree-noo s] /ˌpɛr ɛˈgri nʊs/, and purple [pur-puh l] /ˈpɜr pəl/ from Old English purpure [poo r-poo–re] /ˈpʊər pʊ rɛ/, or disappears entirely because of a like sound in another syllable, as in the pronunciation [guhv–uh-ner] /ˈgʌv ə nər/ for governor.Compare assimilation(def 7).
- Biology. catabolism.
noun
- the act or an instance of making dissimilar
- phonetics the alteration or omission of a consonant as a result of being dissimilated
- biology a less common word for catabolism
1874, noun of action from dissimilate.