1 to understand and remember something -- capire, assimilare
It’s hard to absorb so much information. È difficile assimilare così tante informazioni.
2 to soak up -- assorbire
3 to take up the whole attention of (a person) -- assorbire
He was completely absorbed in his book.
4 to learn and understand new information -- assimilare
You have to absorb a lot of information in a short time on an intensive course.
5 to make something smaller become part of something bigger -- assorbire
Venice was absorbed into the kingdom of Italy.