Immigrate vs. Emigrate – What’s the Gist?
Immigrate and Emigrate are two near homophones in English, which means that they sound similarly but are spelled differently and have different definitions.
- Immigrate is an intransitive verb that means to move into another country.
- Emigrate is an intransitive verb that means to move out of a country.
By the Way
Although an intransitive verb does express action, it does not pass that action to a direct object (active voice) or to a subject (passive voice) in a sentence.
How to Use Immigrate in a Sentence
Immigrate definition: The word immigrate is a present tense verb indicating a person’s move into an adopted country.
For example:
- My parents immigrated to America before I was born. (Past Tense Verb)
- After our relatives immigrated to England, they became citizens. (Past Tense Verb)
- He plans to immigrate to Canada from the United States soon. (Infinitive)
If you use immigrate, you are indicating someone’s admission into an adopted country.
How to Use Emigrate in a Sentence
Emigrate definition: The word emigrate is a present tense verb indicating a person’s move away from a country of origin.
For example:
- My grandparents emigrated from Germany in the 1950s. (Past Tense Verb)
- Because they were looking for better opportunities, my relatives emigrated from Mexico. (Past Tense Verb)
- When someone emigrates from her country of origin, it is difficult to start over in a new place. (Present Tense Verb)
The word you use is based on whether you are meaning someone is coming from or into a country. Do you mean someone is coming into an adopted country? Or do you mean a person is moving from a country?
Determining the exact definition will help you choose the correct word.
Outside Examples of Immigrate vs. Emigrate
- Similarly, back in March, senior staff members at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services were told that, by year’s end, the agency would shut down its international division, which assists overseas applicants applying to immigrate to the United States, to redirect resources to the border crisis. –New York Times
- The administration is poised to implement a rule this month that would require many of the same applicants to demonstrate that they wouldn’t become reliant on public benefits including Medicaid should they be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. –Wall Street Journal
- Attendance is swelling at seminars about how to emigrate to Australia, Canada and the United States and emerging alternatives such as Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. –LA Times
- Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Schaumburg, was an infant when his parents emigrated from India. –Chicago Tribune
Phrases and Clauses That Use Immigrate and Emigrate
There are some phrases or clauses that use words derived from immigrate or emigrate, including:
Large immigrant population: Meaning there is a large group of people, who came from another country or several different countries, and they live in the same area.
- On the west side of the city, a large immigrant population settled from Italy.
The poorly clad immigrant: An unprepared person leaving his or her country.
- The poorly clad immigrant was awaiting deportation.
Famine caused the great emigration: People left a country because of the lack of food.
- Because the country was hit hard by a famine, it caused a great emigration.
War begets emigration: Meaning that war starts the emigration process.
- After tensions broke out between the countries, the resultant war begat a mass emigration of citizens.
How to Remember These Words
The easiest way to remember the difference between immigrate and emigrate is by looking at the beginning vowel. The word immigrate, like the word into, both begin with the letter i. When someone immigrates, she is coming into a country to live. On the other hand, emigrate and exit both start with the letter e. When someone emigrates, he is exiting his original country of residence.
For example:
- She immigrated into her new adopted country earlier this year.
Versus
- Making a hasty exit, she emigrated from her country of origin.
Article Summary
Is immigrate or emigrate correct? While these two near homophones sound very similar, they are not interchangeable and mean entirely different things. Just ask yourself whether or not you mean whether someone is coming into or exiting from a country.
- Immigrate is an intransitive verb showing admission into an adopted country.
- Emigrate is an intransitive verb showing an exit from a country of origin.