disintegrate

American  

[dis-in-tuh-greyt] / dɪsˈɪn təˌgreɪt /

verb (used without object)

disintegrated, disintegrating

1. to separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; break up; deteriorate.

   The old book is gradually disintegrating with age.

2. Physics.

   1. to decay.

   2. (of a nucleus) to change into one or more different nuclei after being bombarded by high-energy particles, as alpha particles or gamma rays.

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verb (used with object)

disintegrated, disintegrating

1. to reduce to particles, fragments, or parts; break up or destroy the cohesion of.

   Rocks are disintegrated by frost and rain.

disintegrate British  

/ dɪsˈɪntɪˌɡreɪt /

verb

1. to break or be broken into fragments or constituent parts; shatter

2. to lose or cause to lose cohesion or unity

3. (intr) to lose judgment or control; deteriorate

4. physics

   1. to induce or undergo nuclear fission, as by bombardment with fast particles

   2. another word for decay

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Related Words

See decay.

Other Word Forms

• disintegrable adjective
• disintegration noun
• disintegrative adjective
• disintegrator noun
• disintegratory adjective
• nondisintegrating adjective

Etymology

Origin of disintegrate

First recorded in 1790–1800; dis- ¹ + integrate

Explanation

Soak your tooth in a cup of soda for long enough and it will disintegrate, or break apart from decay. The word disintegrate comes from a combination of the prefix dis- meaning "do the opposite of" and the Latin integrare meaning "to make whole." When something disintegrates, it does the opposite of become whole; it falls apart. Objects can either disintegrate over time — like a tooth soaking in a cup of soda, or instantaneously — like a building disintegrating into dust from an explosion.

Example Sentences

A police chief has said there is no imminent danger that the tower will disintegrate.

From BBC • Nov. 3, 2025

When these shelves thin or disintegrate, that stabilizing effect disappears, allowing land ice to move more quickly into the ocean and raise global sea levels.

From Science Daily • Oct. 29, 2025

Were you to cook Swiss chard fully intact, without separating the stems and leaves, the leaf would disintegrate by the time the stems were tender.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

Two decades after digital downloading was supposed to disintegrate the full-length LP, musicians seem as eager to collect and to sprawl — and sometimes to tighten up — as they’ve ever been.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2024

Operating on the assumption that, sooner or later, even the toga will make a comeback, he holds on to his clothing and continues to wear things long after they've begun to disintegrate.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• break down
• break up
• come apart
• crumble
• decay
• decompose
• degenerate
• descend
• disband
• dismantle
• rot
• sever
• shatter
• sink
• splinter
• wash out
• wither