atomization

American  

[at-uh-mahy-zey-shuhn] / ˌæt əˌmaɪˈzeɪ ʃən /

especially British, atomisation

noun

1. the act or process of splitting into smaller parts, sections, groups, etc.; fragmentation or disintegration.

   The atomization of society into isolated individuals, who find nothing above them but the all-powerful state, is largely a modern phenomenon.

2. the act or process of reducing a substance to fine particles or spray.

   The finer the atomization of the material, the smoother the surface produced when spraying.

3. the act or process of reducing something to atoms.

   In atomization by flame, oxygen is used as an oxidant because breaking molecules down to atoms is easier with more heat.

4. the act of destroying a target by bombing, especially with an atomic bomb.

   The atomization of Hiroshima inflicted death, mutilation, and irreparable loss on millions of men, women, and children.

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Etymology

Origin of atomization

atomiz(e) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Example Sentences

Countries like Germany and Russia suffered a crisis of industrial modernization, with wrenching change, uneven development and the atomization of the individual in a newly created mass society.

From Salon

Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s documentation of Stalinism strikes the same note: the elimination of a private existence away from politics, with the regime constantly forcing itself upon one’s attention, feeding each individual’s growing atomization and learned helplessness.

From Salon

This dynamic of constant stimulation in an age of spectacle has contributed to epidemic rates of loneliness, social atomization, depression and other mental and emotional unwellness.

From Salon

Loneliness and social atomization play a large role in why individuals join extremist organizations be it ISIS/ISIL or right-wing paramilitaries and other antidemocracy and hate groups here in the U.S.

From Salon

This quality of drift has less to do with Hollywood than it does with Didion’s inner climate, the centrality in her work of atomization and narrative breakdown.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• decay
• disintegration