atomize

American  

[at-uh-mahyz] / ˈæt əˌmaɪz /

especially British, atomise

verb (used with object)

atomized, atomizing

1. to reduce to atoms.

2. to reduce to fine particles or spray.

3. to destroy (a target) by bombing, especially with an atomic bomb.

4. to split into smaller parts, sections, groups, factions, etc..

   Principles of freedom and individual liberty encouraged the economic individualism that atomized the nation and destroyed social responsibility.

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verb (used without object)

atomized, atomizing

1. to split into smaller units; fragment.

   Critics say the group has atomized around several leaders.

atomize British  

/ ˈætəˌmaɪz /

verb

1. to separate or be separated into free atoms

2. to reduce (a liquid or solid) to fine particles or spray or (of a liquid or solid) to be reduced in this way

3. (tr) to destroy by weapons, esp nuclear weapons

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Other Word Forms

• atomization noun

Etymology

Origin of atomize

First recorded in 1670–80; atom + -ize

Example Sentences

“We can see the best performers on the planet, whenever we want. But there’s no sense of watching something in common, so the experience has become atomized.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The TV business has been atomized into a thousand tiny pieces—clips, blips, YouTubes, TikToks.

From The Wall Street Journal

“In an atomized society,” Ms. Liu observes, “where it’s easy to simply withdraw and isolate oneself, the crucial challenge was to do just the opposite: to reach out, reconnect, and rebuild community.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s one of many smart, rueful asides in what amounts to a nonjudgmental cinematic essay on the increasingly atomized nature of contemporary living.

From The Wall Street Journal

Social media, which has divided us even more, has atomized community so much that I think the pendulum has swung just about as far as it possibly can away from kin-based organizations.

From Salon