acculturation
noun
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What is the difference between acculturation, assimilation, and amalgamation?
Acculturation is one of several forms of culture contact, and has a couple of closely related terms, including assimilation and amalgamation. Although all three of these words refer to changes due to contact between different cultures, there are notable differences between them. Acculturation is often tied to political conquest or expansion, and is applied to the process of change in beliefs or traditional practices that occurs when the cultural system of one group displaces that of another. Assimilation refers to the process through which individuals and groups of differing heritages acquire the basic habits, attitudes, and mode of life of an embracing culture. Amalgamation refers to a blending of cultures, rather than one group eliminating another (acculturation) or one group mixing itself into another (assimilation).
Examples of acculturation in a Sentence
Tony Gonzalez, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Liberal means generous, broad-minded, tolerant, worldly, seeking acculturation and education, and using government to aid collective human flourishing.
—Harper’s Magazine, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Far from being an act of resistance, could de-skilling actually grease the wheels of avant-garde acculturation, facilitating the movement of capital into every last nook and cranny of cultural production, even the most seemingly resistant?
—Gordon Hughes, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
Those who were born in the U.S. tend to reflect an acculturation to American society, which, more generally, has become hesitant about strict parenting.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 15 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for acculturation
Cite this Entry
“Acculturation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acculturation. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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