Standard Lemma guide

photodisintegration

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈfoʊ.toʊ.dɪ.sɪɾ̃.əˌɡɹeɪ.ʃən/
  • General-American: /ˈfoʊ.ɾə.dɪ-/
  • General-American: /ˈfoʊ.ɾə.də-/
  • General-American: /ˈfoʊ.ɾoʊ.də-/
  • General-American: [-sɪn.əˌɡɹeɪ.ʃən]
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfoʊ.toʊ.dɪs.ɪn.tɪˌɡɹeɪ.ʃən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any nuclear reaction, especially a nuclear fission, initiated by absorption of high-energy electromagnetic radiation such as a gamma ray.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: nuclear physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- Proto-Indo-European *bhéh2os Proto-Hellenic *pháwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-)der. English photo- English disintegration English photodisintegration From photo- + disintegration.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: photodésintégration — physics: any nuclear reaction initiated by absorption of high-energy electromagnetic radiation
  • Irish: fóta-dhíscaoileadh — physics: any nuclear reaction initiated by absorption of high-energy electromagnetic radiation
  • Italian: fotodisintegrazione — physics: any nuclear reaction initiated by absorption of high-energy electromagnetic radiation
  • Spanish: fotodesintegración — physics: any nuclear reaction initiated by absorption of high-energy electromagnetic radiation