disintegrate
Americanverb (used without object)
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disintegrates,
present (3rd person singular)
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disintegrated,
past participle, past
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disintegrating
present participle
-
to separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; break up; deteriorate.
The old book is gradually disintegrating with age.
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Physics.
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to decay.
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(of a nucleus) to change into one or more different nuclei after being bombarded by high-energy particles, as alpha particles or gamma rays.
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verb (used with object)
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disintegrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disintegrated,
past participle, past
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disintegrating
present participle
verb
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to break or be broken into fragments or constituent parts; shatter
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to lose or cause to lose cohesion or unity
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(intr) to lose judgment or control; deteriorate
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physics
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to induce or undergo nuclear fission, as by bombardment with fast particles
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another word for decay
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Synonym Usage
See decay.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disintegrationnoun
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disintegratornoun
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disintegrableadjective
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disintegrativeadjective
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disintegratoryadjective
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nondisintegratingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disintegratesimple
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disintegratessimple
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have disintegratedperfect
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has disintegratedperfect
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am disintegratingprogressive
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are disintegratingprogressive
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is disintegratingprogressive
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have been disintegratingperfect progressive
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has been disintegratingperfect progressive
Past
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disintegratedsimple
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had disintegratedperfect
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was disintegratingprogressive
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were disintegratingprogressive
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had been disintegratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disintegrate
Explanation
Soak your tooth in a cup of soda for long enough and it will disintegrate, or break apart from decay. The word disintegrate comes from a combination of the prefix dis- meaning "do the opposite of" and the Latin integrare meaning "to make whole." When something disintegrates, it does the opposite of become whole; it falls apart. Objects can either disintegrate over time — like a tooth soaking in a cup of soda, or instantaneously — like a building disintegrating into dust from an explosion.
Vocabulary lists containing disintegrate
The Lightning Thief
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Fahrenheit 451
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Farewell to Manzanar
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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.
See Examples For:
Tall figures, made in the 1960s, seem to disintegrate as we concentrate on the nuances of De Kooning’s touch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Only last month U.S. authorities said that it was illegal for countries to charge tolls on international waterways, so this threat may disintegrate when it hits reality,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Language is malleable, but it has to retain some meaning, or the boundaries of our society will disintegrate more than they already have.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
Before it began to disintegrate, K1 was likely slightly larger than a typical comet, measuring about 5 miles across.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026
“Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they’ll just keep coming back.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
But if data disintegrates, he said, he would vote in favor of a cut.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
He adds that if we sacrifice that commitment for A.I., “you’d get to a point pretty fast where it just disintegrates and becomes the ugliest definition of the word product.”
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2024
Lukas’ portrayal deepens as the marriage between Nick and Fanny disintegrates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
Instead, the authors used an experimental setup that sends a thin beam of liquid water into a vacuum, where it disintegrates into droplets.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2024
They don’t drop me—it’s more like the group that’s supporting me disintegrates and I get dumped on the floor as everyone rushes to fix the fallen links.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Given how fragile it was, it may simply have disintegrated on the shelf and been overlooked or thrown away.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
They have changed, there's no question about that, but they have not disintegrated.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
Then in a matter of weeks in 2011, Sokol’s prospects disintegrated after a controversy related to his personal stock trades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
Panther Lake also represents a step forward for a company whose manufacturing footprint disintegrated over the last decade.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
Either they’d panicked and ran or they’d been disintegrated.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
That changed in April 2023 when unknowing construction workers unceremoniously removed a disintegrating Pinky from its eyrie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Structures made out of bed sheets and clothing—assembled by displaced Palestinians who haven’t received a proper tent—are disintegrating in the heavy rains and winds, leaving many out in the cold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 13, 2025
The story of her disintegrating marriage to fellow writer Murray Bail makes for a slow burn of suspense and readerly alarm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Columbia was unable to withstand the fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, disintegrating as the world watched on in horror.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025
She feels transparent, as if the hard lines of her hulking form were disintegrating.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
