disintegrate
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.
to reduce to particles, fragments, or parts; break up or destroy the cohesion of: Rocks are disintegrated by frost and rain.
Origin of disintegrate
1synonym study For disintegrate
Other words from disintegrate
- dis·in·te·gra·ble [dis-in-tuh-gruh-buhl], /dɪsˈɪn tə grə bəl/, adjective
- dis·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/, adjective
- dis·in·te·gra·tor, noun
- non·dis·in·te·grat·ing, adjective
Words Nearby disintegrate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use disintegrate in a sentence
Cassie remains fixated on Alex, contributing to her disintegrating emotional state.
Dripping sweat post-run, I often stand holding the cup, watching the disintegrating tablet float to the surface of my cold filtered water in anticipation of that first, most satisfying hit.
I've Tried Many Workout Drinks. Nuun Is the Best. | Will Taylor | December 17, 2020 | Outside OnlineIt went from almost disintegrating—two months into my time at Google, my co-lead, Meg Mitchell, was going to quit.
“I started crying”: Inside Timnit Gebru’s last days at Google—and what happens next | Karen Hao | December 16, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewJust the year before, a plane flown by British pilot Geoffrey de Havilland had disintegrated in the attempt.
Chuck Yeager has died at 97, but the legacy of his record-breaking flight lives on | Rob Verger | December 8, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe typical meteoroid is no larger than a grain of sand, but it travels so fast that it energizes electrons both in its own atoms as it disintegrates and in atmospheric atoms and molecules.
December’s stunning Geminid meteor shower is born from a humble asteroid | Ken Croswell | December 2, 2020 | Science News
At this point Marvin gives his Liberty Valance smile, the kind that makes you wish you could disintegrate in front of him.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIf life has left Mandela, does this mean we will disintegrate, too?
The thriving democracy conjured up by prophets of unification can quickly disintegrate into tribal war.
Partition Skepticism and the Future of the Peace Process | Avner Inbar, Assaf Sharon | September 25, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAll of our hard work began to disintegrate in an instant, based on a decision the Marines and I had no input on whatsoever.
Iraq War, 10th Anniversary: The Last Grand Mufti | John Kael Weston | March 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTDo we have a plan B if the Afghan Army starts to disintegrate?
Obama and Romney Must Address the Pakistan Problem | Bruce Riedel | October 21, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the formation began to disintegrate as the weaker ones dropped behind, and no attempt was made to keep it.
The Stars, My Brothers | Edmond HamiltonThen the mass began to disintegrate, and savages staggered back and fell dead, or suffering from terrible wounds.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterIt seems that an atom of radium does actually disintegrate, and by disintegrating give out energy.
Invention | Bradley A. FiskeStarting toward North Carolina it continued to disintegrate, and reached the southern line of that State not over 6000 strong.
Was General Thomas Slow at Nashville? | Henry V. BoyntonIf cohesion ceased to be, then everything would fall to powder and would disintegrate.
Spirit and Music | H. Ernest Hunt
British Dictionary definitions for disintegrate
/ (dɪsˈɪntɪˌɡreɪt) /
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 (def. 3)
Derived forms of disintegrate
- disintegrable, adjective
- disintegration, noun
- disintegrative, adjective
- disintegrator, 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
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