word choice - What's the difference in meaning between "emigrate" and "immigrate"?


What's the difference between emigrate and immigrate? They seem to have the same definitions in the dictionary but they are antonyms...




Answer



The difference is fairly subtle



  • To Emigrate is to leave one country to settle in another. (The focus is on the original country)

  • To Immigrate is to come to a new country to live. (The focus is on the new country)


So if I were born in Ireland, and then migrated to the US, all of the following would be true and grammatical:



I emigrated from Ireland.


I immigrated to the US.



(Now the tricky bits)



I emigrated from Ireland to the US. (This focuses on the leaving bit)


I immigrated to the US from Ireland. (This focuses on the arriving bit)



And finally, relatives in Ireland might say:



Dusty emigrated to the US last year. (from their perspective, I left)



While new friends in the US:



Dusty immigrated to the US last year. (from their perspective, I arrived)



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