dissolve
/dɪˈzɑlv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.49 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To disintegrate chemically into a solution by immersion into a liquid or other material.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "The ruling party or coalition sometimes dissolves parliament early when the polls are favorable, hoping to reconvene with a larger majority."
- "as if the world were all dissolved to tears"
- "There was a legend that Cleopatra was accustomed to dissolve pearls in vinegar and drink the fluid in order to promote her amorousness."
- "Nothing can dissolve us."
- "Down fell the duke, his joints dissolved asunder."
- "For one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another."
Etymology
Recorded since c. 1374 (displacing Old English toliesan) as Middle English dissolven, from Latin dissolvere (“to loosen up, break apart”) but with the sense from Anglo-Norman dissoldre (variant of Old French dissoudre), itself from dis- (“apart”) + solvere (“to loose, loosen”). By surface analysis, dis- + solve.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *lewh₁-, dissolven, dissolvo, dissoldre
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /dɪˈzɑlv/
- British English: /dɪˈzɒlv/