Acculturation
noun /əˌkʌl.tʃərˈeɪ.ʃən/ — The process of cultural change through contact with another culture.
Definition
The process of psychological and cultural change that results from sustained contact between cultures. Acculturation can occur in both directions — the dominant culture is also changed, though rarely as profoundly. It involves adoption, adaptation, and sometimes loss.
Beyond the definition
Acculturation is the quiet negotiation that happens in every immigrant's body — what to keep, what to release, what to carry forward for children who will not know they are carrying it.
Origin & history
From 'ad-' (to) + 'culture' + '-ation'. Developed by American anthropologists in the 1930s–40s to describe the dual cultural change that occurs when different cultures meet.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Second-generation immigrants experience acculturation differently from their parents — born between two worlds, belonging fully to neither.
Acculturation is not the same as assimilation: it doesn't require one culture to disappear into the other.
The exchange of foods, words, and music across borders is acculturation at its most natural and pleasurable.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Acculturation” when the meaning fits your context: The process of psychological and cultural change that results from sustained contact between cultures. Acculturation can occur in both directions — the dominant culture is also changed, though rarely as profoundly. It involves adoption, adaptation, and sometimes loss.
Synonyms
cultural exchange, integration, cultural adaptation
Antonyms
cultural isolation, segregation
Related words
Acculturation vs assimilation
Acculturation is the exchange of features while maintaining separate cultural identities. Assimilation is the complete absorption into a dominant culture.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Pigments Blending Into New Shades
An artist's palette shows swirling, multi-colored pigments blending as a brush moves, creating new, subtle shades of color.
Acculturation is the process of cultural change resulting from contact between different groups. The blending of separate colors into a new shade illustrates how mutual interaction transforms the participants into something entirely new.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Acculturation" mean?
Acculturation is noun meaning: The process of cultural change through contact with another culture.. The process of psychological and cultural change that results from sustained contact between cultures. Acculturation can occur in both directions — the dominant culture is also changed, though rarely as profoundly. It involves adoption, adaptation, and sometimes loss.
Where does the word "Acculturation" come from?
From 'ad-' (to) + 'culture' + '-ation'. Developed by American anthropologists in the 1930s–40s to describe the dual cultural change that occurs when different cultures meet.