To break apart into small pieces or fragments; or to fall apart or lose unity.
From 'dis-' (apart) and 'integrate' (from Latin 'integrare,' meaning to make whole). The prefix reverses the meaning, creating its opposite.
Radioactive atoms disintegrate in predictable ways at predictable rates—this is how carbon-14 dating works and allows scientists to know the age of fossils by counting how many atoms have disintegrated since something died.
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