disintegrate

[ dis-in-tuh-greyt ]

verb (used without object)

, dis·in·te·grat·ed, dis·in·te·grat·ing.

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.

verb (used with object)

, dis·in·te·grat·ed, dis·in·te·grat·ing.

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

   Rocks are disintegrated by frost and rain.

disintegrate

/ 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

Derived Forms

• disˈintegrable, adjective
• disˈinteˌgrator, noun
• disˈintegrative, adjective
• disˌinteˈgration, noun

Other Words From

• dis·in·te·gra·ble [dis-, in, -t, uh, -gr, uh, -b, uh, l], adjective
• dis·inte·grative dis·in·te·gra·to·ry [dis-, in, -t, uh, -gr, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, -grey-t, uh, -ree], adjective
• dis·inte·grator noun
• nondis·inte·grating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disintegrate¹

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

Synonym Study

See decay.

Example Sentences

In 1989, when climate politics was still fledgling, he warned that the effects of warming were going to prove explosive along America’s borders — and that, left unresolved, communities could disintegrate into violence.

From Salon

The Antonito headquarters — listed on the National Register of Historic Places — began to disintegrate.

From Los Angeles Times

Unrwa's head responded, saying that if the legislation is adopted, the body’s humanitarian operations in Gaza and the West Bank may “disintegrate.”

From BBC

This leaves them prone to erosion and they would begin to disintegrate if left out in the open.

From BBC

It takes 1,000 years for the bags to disintegrate, shedding hormone-disrupting chemicals as they do.

From Salon

Related Words

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