disintegrate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; break up; deteriorate.
The old book is gradually disintegrating with age.
-
Physics.
-
to decay.
-
(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)
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
-
to induce or undergo nuclear fission, as by bombardment with fast particles
-
another word for decay
-
Related Words
See decay.
Other Word Forms
- disintegrable adjective
- disintegration noun
- disintegrative adjective
- disintegrator noun
- disintegratory adjective
- nondisintegrating adjective
Etymology
Origin of disintegrate
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.
When these shelves thin or disintegrate, that stabilizing effect disappears, allowing land ice to move more quickly into the ocean and raise global sea levels.
From Science Daily • Oct. 29, 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
The area also symbolizes an inevitable truth about London: Without the thronging masses of tourists, and the attractions designed to amuse them, the city might disintegrate completely.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 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
From between Rosemont’s ears, Richards saw Seabiscuit’s form disintegrate.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
