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

Explanation

Disintegration is when one thing splits into parts or just ceases to exist. When something is destroyed, broken up into pieces, or falls apart on its own, that’s disintegration. If you know that integration brings things or people together, you won't be surprised that disintegration means things are coming apart. Disintegration is what happens when a company breaks into smaller companies or when a band splits up. Often, disintegration is physical — a bomb could cause the disintegration of its target. The decomposition (rotting) of a body is an example of disintegration. When something radioactive decays, that's disintegration, too. Disintegration is when it all falls apart.

Example Sentences

Allen made an entire album about the disintegration of her marriage to David Barbour.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026

But there is also logic behind the chip industry’s drift toward disintegration over the past couple of decades, largely into companies that either make or design chips.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

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

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

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

From BBC • Dec. 12, 2025

The old guard’s natural radiation sources, the thimblefuls of radium and clumps of radium-beryllium they used to make the discoveries that transformed physics—nuclear disintegration, the neutron, and artificial radioactivity—had had their day.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• dissolution
• fragmentation