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Synonyms

disintegrate

American  
[dis-in-tuh-greyt] / dɪsˈɪn təˌgreɪt /

verb (used without object)

disintegrated, disintegrating

  1. to separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; break up; deteriorate.

    The old book is gradually disintegrating with age.

  2. Physics.

    1. to decay.

    2. (of a nucleus) to change into one or more different nuclei after being bombarded by high-energy particles, as alpha particles or gamma rays.

verb (used with object)

disintegrated, disintegrating

  1. to reduce to particles, fragments, or parts; break up or destroy the cohesion of.

    Rocks are disintegrated by frost and rain.
disintegrate British  
/ dɪsˈɪntɪˌɡreɪt /

verb

  1. to break or be broken into fragments or constituent parts; shatter

  2. to lose or cause to lose cohesion or unity

  3. (intr) to lose judgment or control; deteriorate

  4. physics

    1. to induce or undergo nuclear fission, as by bombardment with fast particles

    2. another word for decay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See decay.

Other Word Forms

  • disintegrable adjective
  • disintegration noun
  • disintegrative adjective
  • disintegrator noun
  • disintegratory adjective
  • nondisintegrating adjective

Etymology

Origin of disintegrate

First recorded in 1790–1800; dis- 1 + integrate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This kind of "odd" solid can even disintegrate on its own.

From Science Daily • Oct. 21, 2025

Were you to cook Swiss chard fully intact, without separating the stems and leaves, the leaf would disintegrate by the time the stems were tender.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

But in the hand, it immediately began to disintegrate and blow away in the light breeze.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2025

With his hands dark black from the soot, he collects what he can, but many pieces disintegrate with his touch.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2025

Mom’s warm hands grip my shoulders as we watch the fuse disintegrate into nothing.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.