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integrate

/ˈɪntɪɡreɪt//ˈɪntɪɡreɪt/·verb
to combine parts into one working whole; to bring into full, equal membership
Fig. 1 — I watch a row of gears with one empty place, and because of that single gap the whole line sits dead, unable to turn.
01Definition

To integrate is to bring parts together so they function as one whole — from the Latin integrare, 'to make whole'. New software integrates with your calendar; a recruit integrates into a team; separated groups integrate into shared, equal community life. What is integrated stops being an add-on and becomes a working part of the system, the way a gear that meshes lets the whole train turn. It is stronger than to combine: the parts do not just sit together, they work together.

02In use
  • iThe new hire integrated into the research group within a fortnight.
  • iiThe app integrates with every major calendar, so nothing is double-booked.
  • iiiPolicies that integrate newcomers into local life reduce long-term tension.
03Collocations
  • integrate into
  • integrate with
  • fully integrated
  • social integration
  • integrate seamlessly

Family integration (noun) · integrated (adjective) · integral (adjective)

04Relations

=incorporate, combine, merge, unify, assimilate

≠separate, segregate, isolate

05Compared
PairThe difference
integrate vs amalgamatemerge organizations into one under a single name → amalgamate; fit parts into one working whole, or bring into full membership → integrate.
integrate vs assemblefit parts together into a whole, or gather in one place → assemble; fit parts into one working whole, or bring into full membership → integrate.
integrate vs blendmix things into one uniform whole where the parts vanish → blend; fit parts into one working whole, or bring into full membership → integrate.
integrate vs clustergather into a tight, dense bunch by nearness → cluster; fit parts into one working whole, or bring into full membership → integrate.
integrate vs coalescelet separate things grow together into one on their own → coalesce; fit parts into one working whole, or bring into full membership → integrate.

Also compared with combine, come together, congregate, consolidate, disband, disperse, dissipate, dissolve, diverge, divide, fuse, gather, join, merge, scatter, separate, split, unite

06TOEFL & IELTS

The prepositions split the sense: integrate into = absorbed into a larger existing whole (integrate into society); integrate with = two comparable systems joined as partners (integrate with the database). In social studies, integration — bringing separated groups into equal, shared life — is contrasted with segregation. Watch the word family: integral means 'essential', and integrity ('honesty, moral soundness') is a relative worth separating by sense — all three grow from the Latin integer, 'whole', but they are not interchangeable.

07Asked
Is it 'integrate into' or 'integrate with'?
Both, for different situations. Integrate into means absorbed into a larger existing whole — 'refugees integrate into a community', 'the clause was integrated into the contract'. Integrate with means two comparable systems joined as partners — 'the software integrates with your calendar'. As the gear does in the scene above, integrating is becoming a working part of the whole, not just sitting beside it. 'Integrate in' is usually wrong.
What does 'integration' mean in society?
Bringing separated groups — often by race or ethnicity — into equal, shared participation in the same schools, workplaces, and public life. It is more than desegregation: desegregation is the legal end of forced separation, while integration is the actual mixing and equal access that is meant to follow. It is a core term in history and social-science passages.
What is the difference between integrate and incorporate?
To incorporate something is to add it in as a part while it keeps its own identity — 'incorporate the feedback into the draft'. To integrate is to blend parts so they work as one and lose their separateness. So you incorporate a quotation, but you integrate a new team into a company. (Incorporate also has a separate legal sense: to form a company.)
What does 'integrated' mean, and what is its opposite?
Integrated means the parts are combined into one shared, working whole — 'an integrated transport network', 'racially integrated schools'. Its direct opposite is segregated, where groups or parts are kept apart. The contrast is a staple of civil-rights and urban-planning texts, and integrated always carries the sense of equal, joined-up participation rather than mere coexistence.
Does 'integrate' mean something different in maths?
Yes — in calculus, to integrate is to find the integral: the area under a curve, and the reverse operation of differentiation. It is a specialized technical sense, quite separate from the everyday 'combine into a whole', so a sentence about maths and a sentence about society are using two different meanings of the same word.
How do you pronounce integrate?
IN-ti-grate (/ˈɪntɪɡreɪt/) — stress on the first syllable, and the -grate ending rhymes with 'great', not 'grat'. The noun shifts the stress along: integration is in-ti-GRAY-shun. Take care not to say 'in-TEG-rate'; the beat sits up front on IN.