dissolution

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Decomposition into fragments or parts; disintegration.
2. n. Indulgence in sensual pleasures; debauchery.
3. n. Termination or extinction by disintegration or dispersion: The dissolution of the empire was remarkably swift.
4. n. Extinction of life; death.
5. n. Annulment or termination of a formal or legal bond, tie, or contract.
6. n. Formal dismissal of an assembly or legislature.
7. n. Reduction to a liquid form; liquefaction.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act of dissolving, or changing from a solid to a liquid state; the state of undergoing liquefaction.
2. n. The substance formed by dissolving a body in a menstruum; a solution.
3. n. Separation into parts, especially into elementary or minute parts; disintegration; decomposition or resolution of natural structure, as of animal or vegetable substances. Specifically
4. n. Death; the separation of soul and body.
5. n. Separation of the parts which compose a connected system or body: as, the dissolution of nature; the dissolution of government.
6. n. The process of retrogression or degeneration: opposed to evolution.
7. n. The breaking up of an assembly or association of any kind, or the bringing of its existence to an end: as, a dissolution of Parliament, or of a partnership; the dissolution of the English monasteries under Henry VIII.
8. n. The act of relaxing or weakening; enervation; looseness or laxity, as of manners; dissipation; dissoluteness.
9. n. The determination of the requisites of a mathematical problem.
10. n. Synonyms and Termination, destruction, ruin.
11. n. Recess, prorogation, etc. See adjournment.

Wiktionary

1. n. The termination of an organized body or legislative assembly, especially a formal dismissal.
2. n. Disintegration, or decomposition into fragments.
3. n. Dissolving, or going into solution.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of dissolving, sundering, or separating into component parts; separation.
2. n. Change from a solid to a fluid state; solution by heat or moisture; liquefaction; melting.
3. n. Change of form by chemical agency; decomposition; resolution.
4. n. The dispersion of an assembly by terminating its sessions; the breaking up of a partnership.
5. n. The extinction of life in the human body; separation of the soul from the body; death.
6. n. The state of being dissolved, or of undergoing liquefaction.
7. n. The new product formed by dissolving a body; a solution.
8. n. Destruction of anything by the separation of its parts; ruin.
9. n. Obs. or R. Corruption of morals; dissipation; dissoluteness.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the process of going into solution
2. n. the termination of a meeting
3. n. dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure
4. n. the termination or disintegration of a relationship (between persons or nations)
5. n. separation into component parts