disintegration

noun

dis·​in·​te·​gra·​tion (ˌ)dis-ˌin-tə-ˈgrā-shən 

plural disintegrations

: the act or process of disintegrating or the state of being disintegrated: such as

a

: the breaking down of something into small particles or into its constituent elements

Some glaciers have been destabilized by warmer ocean waters. Scientists fear that parts of the ice sheet may be in the early stages of an unstoppable disintegration.

—Justin Gillis

But miraculously, officials say, the countless bits of debris from the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia injured not a soul on the ground.

—The New York Times

b

: loss of unity or integrity by or as if by breaking into parts

Declining sales led to the company's gradual disintegration and ultimate demise.

What's more, the fear of many conservatives that we might be at the mercy of unstoppable forces of social disintegration turned out to be wrong.

—William Kristol

Over the long run, however, there is no substitute for addressing the root causes of crime—bad education and lack of job opportunities and the disintegration of families.

—Daniel D. Polsby

Examples of disintegration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Slow disintegration also appears in a triptych of videos by Ismail Ghanbari (facilitated by Tala Madani but not credited as a collaboration). — Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Engineers expected the ship’s life to end with a fiery disintegration after toppling over, just as past Starships have done following splashdown. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026

Marvel’s most ambitious crossover event and most ambitious disintegration of said crossover event, Infinity War delivers in both devastating and groundbreaking fashion. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026

His employer, the Seattle Mariners, was dealing with financial uncertainty following the disintegration of their regional sports network. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disintegration

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

disintegration

noun

dis·​in·​te·​gra·​tion

(ˌ)dis-ˌint-ə-ˈgrā-shən

: the act or process of disintegrating : the state of being disintegrated