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disintegrate

[dis-in-tuh-greyt]
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verb (used without object), dis·in·te·grat·ed, dis·in·te·grat·ing.

to separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; break up; deteriorate: The old book is gradually disintegrating with age.
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), dis·in·te·grat·ed, dis·in·te·grat·ing.

to reduce to particles, fragments, or parts; break up or destroy the cohesion of: Rocks are disintegrated by frost and rain.

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RELATED WORDS

sink, decompose, disband, decay, dismantle, splinter, shatter, crumble, wither, degenerate, rot, sever, descend, deliquesce, pulverize, disconnect, divide, decline, worsen, atomize

Origin of disintegrate

First recorded in 1790–1800; dis-1 + integrate
Related formsdis·in·te·gra·ble [dis-in-tuh-gruh-buh l] /dɪsˈɪn tə grə bəl/, adjectivedis·in·te·gra·tive, dis·in·te·gra·to·ry [dis-in-tuh-gruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, -grey-tuh-ree] /dɪsˈɪn tə grəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, -ˌgreɪ tə ri/, adjectivedis·in·te·gra·tor, nounnon·dis·in·te·grat·ing, adjective

Synonym study

1, 3. See decay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for disintegrate

Contemporary Examples of disintegrate

Historical Examples of disintegrate

  • That is the point at which families innumerable have begun to disintegrate.

    The Wedding Ring

    T. De Witt Talmage

  • They didn't just disintegrate when peace broke out, that was for sure.

    The Cosmic Computer

    Henry Beam Piper

  • When I die my cherished soul will disintegrate into nothing.

  • Cal wondered whether the orders to disintegrate had been a bluff.

    Eight Keys to Eden

    Mark Irvin Clifton

  • About the time a man begins to vote, he begins to disintegrate.

British Dictionary definitions for disintegrate

disintegrate

verb

to break or be broken into fragments or constituent parts; shatter
to lose or cause to lose cohesion or unity
(intr) to lose judgment or control; deteriorate
physics
  1. to induce or undergo nuclear fission, as by bombardment with fast particles
  2. another word for decay (def. 3)
Derived Formsdisintegrable, adjectivedisintegration, noundisintegrative, adjectivedisintegrator, noun
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
Word Origin and History for disintegrate
v.

1796, from dis- "do the opposite of" + integrate (v.). Related: Disintegrated; disintegrating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper