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blend

/blend//blend/·verb, noun
to mix things into a smooth, uniform whole; to fit in unnoticed
Fig. 1 — I drop a gob of blue and a gob of yellow onto the palette, and as they are worked together the two wet colours draw out into arms that chase each other round and round, folding through one another.
01Definition

To blend is to mix things so thoroughly that they form one smooth, even whole with no visible join — flavours blend, colours blend, voices blend into harmony. From the Old Norse blanda, 'to mix'. Unlike things that merely combine and stay distinct, what blends loses its separate edge; and to blend in is to match your surroundings so closely you go unnoticed. A blend is also the noun for the result you can merge from parts kept in set proportions: a coffee blend, a blend of styles.

02In use
  • iThe two paints blend into a single smooth colour with no line between them.
  • iiA skilled speaker lets the statistics blend into the story rather than listing them.
  • iiiWearing grey, she blended into the crowd and slipped out unseen.
03Collocations
  • blend in
  • blend into the background
  • a blend of
  • blend seamlessly
  • blended learning

Family blend (noun) · blended (adjective) · blender (noun)

04Relations

=mix, combine, merge, fuse, mingle

≠separate, clash, stand out

05Compared
PairThe difference
blend vs amalgamatemerge organizations into one under a single name, parts still traceable → amalgamate; mix things into one seamless whole where the parts vanish → blend.
blend vs coalescemix things into one smooth whole by a deliberate action → blend; let separate things grow together into one on their own → coalesce.
blend vs coincidemix several things into one seamless whole → blend; have two independent things share the same point or time → coincide.
blend vs combinemix things into one seamless whole where the parts vanish → blend; bring things together while each keeps its identity → combine.
blend vs concentratemix things into one uniform whole → blend; gather things to a centre to intensify, thicken or focus → concentrate.

Also compared with consolidate, converge, disband, disperse, dissipate, dissolve, diverge, divide, fuse, integrate, intersect, join, meet, merge, scatter, separate, split, unite

06TOEFL & IELTS

The phrasal blend in (with) — to fit your surroundings unnoticed — is high-value in speaking and narrative writing, while blend into takes a direct object (blend into the background). Distinguish blend from mix: a blend is smooth and uniform, a mixture can stay lumpy and separable. Two set compounds are worth banking for essays — a blended family (children from previous relationships) and blended learning (in-person plus online).

07Asked
What does 'blend in' mean?
To look or seem so like your surroundings that nobody notices you — 'plain clothes helped the detective blend in'. It is the figurative side of the word: not mixing substances, but matching a background, a crowd, or a group so you don't stand out. Common with with: she blends in with the locals.
Is it 'blend in' or 'blend into'?
Both, with a small grammar difference. Blend in is intransitive and often takes with — 'he blends in with the crowd'. Blend into is followed directly by the thing — 'blend into the background', 'the hills blend into the mist'. Use in (with) when there is no object right after, into when you name what is being merged with.
What is the difference between blend and mix?
Blend is the stronger, smoother word: the parts merge into one uniform result you can no longer separate by eye — as the two colours do in the scene above, running into one seamless strip. A mix can stay lumpy and distinguishable, like trail mix or a mixed salad. All blending is mixing; only mixing taken to smoothness is blending.
What is a blended family?
A family formed when a couple bring together children from previous relationships — the common, neutral term for what used to be called a stepfamily. It is a fixed compound students meet in reading passages, not a separate sense of the verb, and it keeps the core idea: two households combined into one household.
What is blended learning?
Teaching that combines face-to-face class time with online instruction, so the two modes work as one course rather than replacing each other. It is a common education-topic collocation in IELTS and TOEFL, useful for discussing schools and technology, and again shows the verb's core: two separate things brought into one smooth whole.
What is the difference between blend and mixture?
Blend is mainly the verb (and the smooth product of it — a coffee or whisky blend), stressing an even, seamless result. Mixture is the general noun for any combined thing, and it often implies the parts remain distinguishable. So a blend of teas is tasted as one flavour; a mixture of nuts is still clearly separate nuts.