disintegration
[dis-in-tuh-grey-shuh n]
- the act or process of disintegrating.
- Physics. decay(def 8).
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Origin of disintegration
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for disintegration
Contemporary Examples
“Because of the disintegration of the USSR we lost Odessa [on the Black Sea] and a part of the Baltic,” one said.
“That would be a big step forward in the disintegration of the European Union,” Soros said.
Absent a cohesive political strategy, the likely outcome is disintegration—and chaos.
This formula—"you're sovereign, so you're responsible"—is a recipe for disintegration.
Last month I warned that the disintegration of the European Union was more likely than the death of the euro.
Historical Examples
I should not have a rag of a feeling left, after my disintegration—with his—was complete.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, CompleteAlbert Bigelow Paine
Their posts were centers of disintegration among the savages.
The Frontier in American HistoryFrederick Jackson Turner
My sunset World—all of it—is in process of change, of disintegration, of dissolution.
A Daughter of the Middle BorderHamlin Garland
Mach says that disintegration takes place in times of peace.
The Psychology of NationsG.E. Partridge
The disintegration of his party was as complete as the collapse of its issues.
The New NationFrederic L. Paxson
Word Origin and History for disintegration
n.
1796, noun of action from disintegrate.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
disintegration
(dĭs-ĭn′tĭ-grā′shən)- The breaking up of the component parts of a substance, as in catabolism or decay.
- The disorganization or disruption of mental processes in mental illness.
- The natural or induced transformation of an atomic nucleus from a more massive to a less massive configuration by the emission of particles or radiation.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.