disintegration
UK /dɪs.ɪn.tɪˈɡɹeɪ.ʃən/ · US /dɪsˌɪnd.əˈɡɹeɪ.ʃən/ noun
Forms disintegrations
- noun A process by which anything disintegrates.
- noun The condition of anything which has disintegrated.
- noun (geology) The wearing away or falling to pieces of rocks or strata, produced by atmospheric action, frost, ice, etc.
- noun (nuclear physics) The process of radioactive decay.
- noun The radioactive decay of a single atom. “The sample exhibited an activity of three disintegrations per second.”
Synonyms
decomposition dissolution decay radioactive decay annihilation
Etymology
From disintegrate + -ion or dis- + integration.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “disintegration”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details