I. də̇ˈz]älv, ]ȯlv also ]ä(u̇)v or ]ȯv sometimes də̇ˈs] verb
Etymology: Middle English dissolven, from Latin dissolvere, from dis- dis- (I) + solvere to loosen, release, dissolve — more at solve
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause to disperse or disappear : get rid of : do away with : destroy
a direct hit had dissolved one of the destroyers — R.L.Schwartz
poetry dissolves traditional preconception — Harold Rosenberg
help to dissolve some of the rancor — Edward Shils
b. obsolete : to cause the death of : kill
c. : undo , end
dissolved their alliance
: break the continuity of : disconnect , disunite
dissolve a marriage
dissolve a bond
d. : to separate into component parts : disintegrate , decompose
the American Tobacco Company was dissolved into smaller units — American Guide Series: North Carolina
this would dissolve a vocabulary into an infinite number of nonce words — Weston La Barre
e. : to bring to an end by dispersal or by causing the dissociation of : terminate
the king's former power to dissolve parliament
he had dissolved army courts — Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
dissolve a partnership
f. : to destroy the influence or effect of by counteracting : annul , abrogate
dissolve an injunction
2.
a. : to cause to pass into solution
the difference in content of dissolved gases in cold and warm waters — R.E.Coker
b. : melt , liquefy
the heat dissolved the candles into opaque pools of wax
c. : to cause to be emotionally moved : melt emotionally
the news dissolved her so completely she ran from the room weeping
also : to unstring emotionally and totally — used especially in the phrase dissolved in tears
d. : to totally occupy : immerse
his life was dissolved in a round of frivolities
e. : to fade out (a shot in a motion-picture or television sequence) in a dissolve
3. archaic : to set free : release , detach
4. : to clear up : solve
dissolve the mystery
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to waste away or become dissipated : become broken up or decomposed : vanish , disappear
the mist … dissolved as it touched the valleys — Han Suyin
she would simply have dissolved like a slug with salt poured on it — Jean Stafford
our goals themselves were in flux and … we should only find them dissolving in our hands — Brand Blanshard
b. : to break up : disperse
the assembly dissolved
orders … direct the soldiers to dissolve before a stronger force — W.O.Douglas
the interim committees dissolved as soon as the regular committees returned from vacation
c. : to fade away : fall to nothing : lose power
his strength dissolved before her irresistible charm
the solidity of the main characters seems almost to dissolve — John Lehmann
2.
a. : to become fluid : melt , liquefy
ice cream dissolving in the sun
b. : to pass into solution
sugar dissolves in liquid
c. : to melt or be overcome emotionally
the father dissolved in grief
also : to become totally unstrung emotionally — used especially in the phrase dissolve into tears
d. : to resolve itself as if by dissolution
on closer inspection the street riot dissolved into a mob of students struggling to get into an empty store building to see an exhibition of books — Robert Payne
• dis·solv·er -və(r)\ noun
II. noun
( -s )
: a superimposing of one motion-picture or television shot upon another on a screen in which the overlapped shot is gradually darkened as the emergent shot is brightened usually to indicate a lapse of time or change of scene — called also lap dissolve ; compare fade , wipe