dissimilation: Meaning and Definition of

dis•sim•i•la•tion

Pronunciation: (di-sim"u-lā'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. the act of making or becoming unlike.
  2. the process by which a speech sound becomes different from or less like a neighboring sound, as pilgrimfrom Latin peregrīnusand purplefrom Old English purpureor disappears entirely because of a like sound in another syllable, as in the pronunciationfor governor. Cf. assimilation (def. 5).
  3. catabolism.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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