From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdisintegratedis‧in‧te‧grate /dɪsˈɪntɪɡreɪt/ verb 1 BREAK[intransitive, transitive] to break up, or make something break up, into very small pieces The plane just disintegrated in mid-air.2 WEAK[intransitive] to become weaker or less united and be gradually destroyed a society disintegrating under economic pressures —disintegration /dɪsˌɪntɪˈɡreɪʃən/ noun [uncountable] the disintegration of the Soviet empire into separate republics→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
disintegrate• As the news spread of the general's death, the army disintegrated.• Aggressive and competitive women, unconcerned with motherhood, produce more ruthless men-and a society so competitive that it disintegrates.• A 50-foot section of the roadway began to disintegrate after only a few cars had passed over it.• A large section of the roadway apparently disintegrated after the first few cars passed over it.• It seemed to him that his home life was disintegrating all at once.• The mummified man's clothes had disintegrated almost completely, but appeared to be mainly of leather and fur.• Economics is pushing nations to disintegrate and regions to integrate simultaneously.• There had been stone dragons, and jade dragons so delicate that they disintegrated at a puff of breath.• When they disintegrate death takes place.• The plane disintegrated in midair.• The output of these groups may fail to develop, or their culture may disintegrate or disappear.• The group was disintegrating when Mead left it. 