osmosis
noun
os·mo·sis
| \ äz-ˈmō-səs
, äs-\
, äs-\
Definition of osmosis
1
: movement of a solvent (such as water) through a semipermeable membrane (as of a living cell) into a solution of higher solute concentration that tends to equalize the concentrations of solute on the two sides of the membrane
2
: a process of absorption or diffusion (see diffusion sense 3a) suggestive of the flow of osmotic action
especially
: a usually effortless often unconscious assimilation (see assimilation sense 4)
learned a number of languages by osmosis — Roger Kimball