disintegration

American  

[dis-in-tuh-grey-shuhn] / dɪsˌɪn təˈgreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of disintegrating.

2. Physics. radioactive decay.

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Other Word Forms

• nondisintegration noun

Etymology

Origin of disintegration

First recorded in 1790–1800; disintegrate + -ion

Example Sentences

Bush nor President Mikhail Gorbachev anticipated: the disintegration of the U.S.S.R.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The risk is a disintegration, even a collapse, of the reputation and historical role of the American Church," he said.

From Barron's

Aung San's wartime comrade Ne Win, who had taken the helm of the armed forces after the leader's assassination in murky circumstances, swooped in in a putsch he justified as protection against Myanmar's disintegration.

From Barron's

It's the rapid reimagining of O'Neill's team and the disintegration of the organisation that had been created.

From BBC

It is also no surprise an Australian captain who reveled in "mental disintegration" thought proceedings were set by a similar incident 27 years earlier.

From BBC

Related Words

• dissolution
• fragmentation