v., -solved, -solv·ing, -solves. v.tr.
- To cause to pass into solution: dissolve salt in water.
- To reduce (solid matter) to liquid form; melt.
- To cause to disappear or vanish; dispel.
- To break into component parts; disintegrate.
- To bring to an end by or as if by breaking up; terminate.
- To dismiss (a legislative body, for example): dissolved parliament and called for new elections.
- To cause to break down emotionally or psychologically; upset.
- To cause to lose definition; blur; confuse: "Morality has finally been dissolved in pity" (Leslie Fiedler).
- Law. To annul; abrogate.
- To pass into solution.
- To become liquid; melt.
- To break up or disperse.
- To become disintegrated; disappear.
- To be overcome emotionally or psychologically: I dissolved into helpless laughter.
- To lose clarity or definition; fade away.
- To shift shots in a motion-picture film or videotape by having one shot fade out while the next appears behind it and grows clearer as the first one dims.
A transition in a motion-picture film or videotape made by fading out one shot while the next one grows clearer. Also called lap dissolve.
[Middle English dissolven, from Latin dissolvere : dis-, dis- + solvere, to release.]
dissolvable dis·solv'a·ble adj.dissolver dis·solv'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
