disintegrate
dis·in·te·grate / disˈintəˌgrāt/ • v. [intr.] break up into small parts, typically as the result of impact or decay: when the missile struck, the car disintegrated in a sheet of searing flame. ∎ (of a society, family, or other social group) weaken or break apart: the marriage disintegrated amid allegations that she was having an affair. ∎ inf. deteriorate mentally or physically: I thought that when I finished working on the book I'd disintegrate. ∎ Physics undergo or cause to undergo disintegration at a subatomic level: [intr.] a meson can spontaneously disintegrate | [tr.] it has become a relatively easy matter to disintegrate almost any atom. DERIVATIVES: dis·in·te·gra·tive / -ˌgrātiv/ adj.dis·in·te·gra·tor / -ˌgrātər/ n.
More From encyclopedia.com
disburse , dis·burse / disˈbərs/ • v. [tr.] (often be disbursed) pay out (money from a fund): $67 million of the pledged aid had already been disbursed. DERIVAT… disconcert , dis·con·cert / ˌdiskənˈsərt/ • v. [tr.] disturb the composure of; unsettle: the abrupt change of subject disconcerted her | [as adj.] (disconcerted)… disrupt , dis·rupt / disˈrəpt/ • v. [tr.] interrupt (an event, activity, or process) by causing a disturbance or problem: a rail strike that could disrupt both… dishonest , dis·hon·est / disˈänist/ • adj. behaving or prone to behave in an untrustworthy or fraudulent way: he was a dishonest hypocrite prepared to exploit h… Rupture , rup·ture / ˈrəpchər/ • v. [intr.] (esp. of a pipe, a vessel, or a bodily part such as an organ or membrane) break or burst suddenly: if the main arte… Break , break / brāk/ • v. (past broke / brōk/ ; past part. brok·en / ˈbrōkən/ ) 1. separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, o…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
disintegrate