disintegration
AmericanOther Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing disintegration
East of Eden
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"Deep Survival," Vocabulary from the science writing
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Tracking Trash
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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.
At least some of the answers can be found in a new book by someone who did see it coming, Peter Turchin's "End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration."
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2023
However, at Smith’s request, Gallup returned in 1984 and has remained with the band ever since on albums like "Disintegration," "Wish" and more.
From Fox News • Aug. 16, 2021
Disintegration and rebellion dovetailed in a line of derelict shipping piers that stretched the Hudson River between Chelsea and Greenwich Village.
From New York Times • Sep. 19, 2019
Smith considered 1989’s exquisitely morose Disintegration his masterpiece; the record label thought it was commercial suicide – it sold 3m copies.
From The Guardian • Jun. 7, 2018
The Balkan war was then at its height, during what was called the Yugoslav Era of Disintegration.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
