enculturation

noun

en·cul·tur·a·tion in-ˌkəl-chə-ˈrā-shən

(ˌ)en-

: the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and values

enculturate

in-ˈkəl-chə-ˌrāt

(ˌ)en-

verb

Examples of enculturation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Replacing them requires recruitment, onboarding, training, enculturation, and hiring temporary replacements at higher rates of pay, but also has trickle-down effects: nurse retention and engagement, patient experience, a culture of safety, quality metrics, and interdisciplinary collaboration. —

Toby Bressler and Lauren Ghazal, STAT, 12 Jan. 2024 This makes Snoop an agent of enculturation — the process by which youths learn and internalize the warped values of an aberrant social space. —

Armond White, National Review, 15 Nov. 2023 Thomas also points to the hidden curriculum and the ease that comes with lifelong enculturation. —

Cathleen O’Grady, Science | AAAS, 1 Apr. 2021

Word History

Etymology

en- entry 1 + culture entry 1 + -ation, perhaps after acculturation

Note: Word promulgated, if not introduced, by the American anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits (1895-1963) in Man and His Works: The Science of Cultural Anthropology (New York, 1948).

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of enculturation was in 1948

See more words from the same year