dissimilation

Meanings

Plural: dissimilations

Noun

• a linguistic process by which one of two similar sounds in a word becomes less like the other
  • "the Old French MARBRE became the English MARBLE by dissimilation"
• breakdown in living organisms of more complex substances into simpler ones together with release of energy
• The act of dissimilating, of making dissimilar.
• A dissimilatory process that supply a cell with energy only without the assimilation of nutrients.
• A phenomenon where one of a pair of similar adjacent consonant or vowel sounds in a word becomes less similar.
• Misspelling of dissimulation.

Synonyms

catabolism, destructive metabolism, katabolism

Antonyms

anabolism, assimilation

Related Words

dissimilarity, dissimilitude