Dissolve

How to spell dissolve

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce dissolve

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dissolve mean?

1. verbTo become or cause to become absorbed and disappear into a liquid.
2. verbTo formally bring an organisation, agreement, or assembly to an end.

Dissolve in a sentence

• The tablets dissolve quickly in a glass of warm water.

• The two partners agreed to dissolve the company after years of disputes.

• Sugar will dissolve faster if you stir the coffee.

• The courts can dissolve a marriage when both parties consent.

Where does dissolve come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin dissolvere, which literally meant 'to loosen apart' or 'to break up', formed from the prefix dis-, meaning 'apart', and solvere, meaning 'to loosen' or 'to release'. The same solvere root sits inside the everyday words 'solve', 'solution' and 'solvent', all carrying the idea of something being loosened or set free. English took the word in during the late 1300s, originally in the broad sense of breaking something up or undoing it, and only later did the familiar chemistry sense of a solid melting away into liquid become dominant. The doubled s is the main spelling trap, and it is easy to explain: the prefix dis- already ends in s and is joined to a root that begins with s, so two letters meet and both survive. Remembering the hidden 'solve' inside dissolve keeps the spelling steady.

How the word is built

• dis- (apart)
• solve (from Latin solvere: to loosen, release)