Dissimilative

Dissimilative is an adjective describing phenomena related to dissimilation, a linguistic process in which two neighboring sounds or features become less alike. The term is used primarily in phonology and historical linguistics to refer to changes or effects that increase contrast between similar elements in a word or across morpheme boundaries.

In practice, dissimilative descriptions cover a range of outcomes. Some changes reduce phonetic similarity by altering one of the repeated segments, others shift a feature (such as place or manner of articulation) to create greater distinctiveness. Dissimilation can be an allophonic adjustment observed in rapid speech or a regular historical sound change that becomes part of the language’s phonology. It may affect consonants, vowels, or suprasegmental features, and it can occur within a single word or across word boundaries in connected speech.

Dissimilative analysis is distinguished from dissimilation as a general process versus its outcomes. Linguists study it to understand how languages maintain perceptual distinctiveness, ease articulation, or prevent mishearing. The term is more common in technical descriptions of phonological evolution than in everyday language use, where the noun dissimilation is often preferred.

Relationship to related concepts such as assimilation, harmony, and metathesis is important, as dissimilation can be viewed as the counter-process to assimilation, producing the opposite effect—reduced similarity rather than increased similarity between adjacent phonetic elements.