Dissolve and integrate are opposites. Dissolve is for a solid to break down and disappear into a liquid, or for a body to be formally ended. Integrate is to bring parts into a whole so that they work as one, each with a place and a function. Dissolve breaks a body down; integrate builds a working whole.
They act on a body in opposite ways. Dissolve, from Latin dissolvere 'to loosen apart', breaks a solid down until it vanishes, or ends an organization — a body is dissolved. Integrate, from Latin integer 'whole', fits parts into a system so they function together. Parts are integrated into a working whole; that whole can later be dissolved. One loosens a body apart until it is gone; the other builds one that functions as one.
dissolve
To dissolve is for a solid to break apart into a liquid until it disappears into it — sugar dissolves in water — or, by extension, for something to fade out or be formally ended (a marriage, a company, a parliament is dissolved). From the Latin dissolvere, 'to loosen apart', from solvere 'to loosen', the root of solve and solvent. A substance dissolves when its particles separate and spread evenly through the liquid — the reverse of what happens when droplets coalesce. Governments dissolve; tension dissolves; a crowd can dissolve into laughter.
integrate
To integrate is to bring parts together so they function as one whole — from the Latin integrare, 'to make whole'. New software integrates with your calendar; a recruit integrates into a team; separated groups integrate into shared, equal community life. What is integrated stops being an add-on and becomes a working part of the system, the way a gear that meshes lets the whole train turn. It is stronger than to combine: the parts do not just sit together, they work together.
| dissolve | integrate | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | break down into liquid; be ended | fit parts into one working whole |
| Direction | a body loosened apart, or wound up | parts into a functioning whole |
| Also means | to formally end (a body) | to bring into full membership |
| Often with | sugar, salt, parliament, a body | systems, communities, data, a newcomer |
| Noun | dissolution | integration |
| Example | The body was dissolved. | Integrate the new members. |
Watch whether a body is being built or broken down. Integrate fits a part into place so the whole functions — the gear slotting in and the row turning as one. Dissolve breaks a solid down until it vanishes, or ends a body outright — the sugar cube lost into the water. If parts are fitted into a working whole, that is integrate; if a body breaks down or is wound up, that is dissolve.
dissolve
- iStir until the sugar dissolves completely.
- iiParliament was dissolved before the election.
- iiiThe partnership was dissolved after ten years.
integrate
- iThe school works to integrate new pupils.
- iiThey integrated the two systems into one.
- iiiThe feature is fully integrated into the app.
Integrate builds a working whole where each part has a role; dissolve breaks a body down into liquid or winds it up. For an organization they are near-opposites — members are integrated into a body, or the body is dissolved. But dissolve also covers the chemistry sense that integrate never touches.