: 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
ADJECTIVE | VERB + DISINTEGRATIONADJECTIVE➤complete, total完全解體;整個瓦解▸➤gradual逐漸解體◇the gradual disintegration of traditional values傳統價值觀的逐漸解體➤rapid迅速解體➤slow慢慢解體▸➤political, social政治/社會解體◇indicators of social disintegration such as divorce, suicide and petty theft社會解體的標誌,例如離婚、自殺和小偷小摸VERB + DISINTEGRATION➤lead to, result in導致瓦解◇This defeat led to the disintegration of the empire.這次戰敗導致了帝國的瓦解。