disintegration
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Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
But most microplastics come from the slow disintegration of larger plastic products, including plastic wrap, takeaway containers, polyester clothes, tyres, paint and artificial turf.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Allen made an entire album about the disintegration of her marriage to David Barbour.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
Bush nor President Mikhail Gorbachev anticipated: the disintegration of the U.S.S.R.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
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 ● Dec. 23, 2025
He had been out in the Alisal presiding at the disintegration of old, old lady German.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
While all the October disintegrations have been a surprise, this latest one was even more shocking considering this Dodgers team had seemingly learned from last year’s embarrassment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
The new series appears to follow Fett’s efforts to bring some order to the former crime lord’s holding — presumably without too many disintegrations.
From The Verge ● Nov. 1, 2021
A short half-life will produce many more disintegrations per second.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
The next few days will naturally be fraught with questions surrounding the Everton manager David Moyes' likely succession, and of related disintegrations, the secondary aftershocks of Ferguson's departure.
From The Guardian ● May 8, 2013
The Rad Lab’s letter reporting its own disintegrations of lithium went out to the journal Physical Review on September 15 and appeared in print two weeks later over the names of Lawrence, Livingston, and White.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
