Wiktionary

disintegrate

English

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Etymology

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Recorded since 1785, dis- +‎ integrate

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /dɪsˈɪntɪɡɹeɪt/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: dis‧in‧te‧grate

Verb

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disintegrate (third-person singular simple present disintegrates, present participle disintegrating, simple past and past participle disintegrated)

  1. (transitive) To undo the integrity of; to break into parts.
    • 1784, Richard Kirwan, Elements of Mineralogy:
      Marlites […] are not disintegrated by exposure to the atmosphere, at least in six years.
    1. (science fiction, transitive) To cause to break up into infinitesimal parts through the use of a disintegrator.
      • 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disintegration Machine‎[1]:
        There is a Latvian gentleman named Theodore Nemor living at White Friars Mansions, Hampstead, who claims to have invented a machine of a most extraordinary character which is capable of disintegrating any object placed within its sphere of influence.
  2. (intransitive) To fall apart; to break up into parts.
    • 1968, Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2nd edition, London: Fontana Press, published 1993, page 20:
      Hence they are eloquent, not of the present, disintegrating society and psyche, but of the unquenched source through which society is reborn.
    • 1973 June 14, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.12 Aircraft Wreckage”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Eastern Air Lines, Inc., L-1011, N310EA, Miami, Florida, December 29, 1972‎[2], archived from the original on 31 August 2024, page 8:
      The left outer wing structure impacted the ground first; the No. 1 engine, and then the left main landing gear, followed immediately. The aircraft disintegrated, scattering wreckage over an area approximately 1,600 feet long and 300 feet wide. No complete circumferential cross-section remained of the passenger compartment of the fuselage, which was broken into four main sections and numerous small pieces. The entire left wing and left stabilizer were demolished. No evidence of in-flight structural failure, fire, or explosion was found.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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Italian

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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disintegrate

  1. inflection of disintegrare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

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Participle

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disintegrate f pl

  1. feminine plural of disintegrato
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