n. [ OE. dissolucioun dissoluteness, F. dissolution, fr. L. dissolutio, fr. dissolvere. See Dissolve. ] 1. The act of dissolving, sundering, or separating into component parts; separation. [ 1913 Webster ] Dissolutions of ancient amities. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Change from a solid to a fluid state; solution by heat or moisture; liquefaction; melting. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. Change of form by chemical agency; decomposition; resolution. [ 1913 Webster ] The dissolution of the compound. South. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. The dispersion of an assembly by terminating its sessions; the breaking up of a partnership. [ 1913 Webster ] Dissolution is the civil death of Parliament. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ] 5. The extinction of life in the human body; separation of the soul from the body; death. [ 1913 Webster ] We expected Immediate dissolution. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] 6. The state of being dissolved, or of undergoing liquefaction. [ 1913 Webster ] A man of continual dissolution and thaw. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 7. The new product formed by dissolving a body; a solution. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ] 8. Destruction of anything by the separation of its parts; ruin. [ 1913 Webster ] To make a present dissolution of the world. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ] 9. Corruption of morals; dissipation; dissoluteness. [ Obs. or R. ] Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ] |