Synonyms

disintegrate

American

[dis-in-tuh-greyt] / dɪsˈɪn təˌgreɪt /

verb (used without object)

disintegrated, disintegrating

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)

disintegrated, disintegrating

to reduce to particles, fragments, or parts; break up or destroy the cohesion of.

Rocks are disintegrated by frost and rain.

disintegrate British

/ dɪsˈɪntɪˌɡreɪt /

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

"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

Related Words

See decay.

Other Word Forms

disintegrable adjective
disintegration noun
disintegrative adjective
disintegrator noun
disintegratory adjective
nondisintegrating adjective

Etymology

Origin of disintegrate

First recorded in 1790–1800; dis- ¹ + integrate

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.

They have changed, there's no question about that, but they have not disintegrated.

From BBC

“We hate backtracking, but we’re not crazy … well, not that crazy. We were looking at how a levee disintegrates. It’s not often that you get to see something like that. It’s interesting.”

From Literature

He twisted to the left to look; the greensword had burrowed into it, through the cracks, and now the rock was disintegrating into pieces.

From Literature

“We cannot stand by and watch democracy disintegrate,” the band wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

Usually you needed a jackhammer to dig into permafrost, but this ground had disintegrated just from Owen walking on it.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023