Dissolution \Dis`so*lu"tion\, n. [OE. dissolucioun dissoluteness, F. dissolution, fr. L. dissolutio, fr. dissolvere. See Dissolve.]

1. The act of dissolving, sundering, or separating into component parts; separation.

Dissolutions of ancient amities. --Shak.

2. Change from a solid to a fluid state; solution by heat or moisture; liquefaction; melting.

3. Change of form by chemical agency; decomposition; resolution.

The dissolution of the compound. --South.

4. The dispersion of an assembly by terminating its sessions; the breaking up of a partnership.

Dissolution is the civil death of Parliament. --Blackstone.

5. The extinction of life in the human body; separation of the soul from the body; death.

We expected Immediate dissolution. --Milton.

6. The state of being dissolved, or of undergoing liquefaction.

A man of continual dissolution and thaw. --Shak.

7. The new product formed by dissolving a body; a solution. --Bacon.

8. Destruction of anything by the separation of its parts; ruin.

To make a present dissolution of the world. --Hooker.

9. Corruption of morals; dissipation; dissoluteness. [Obs. or R.]

--Atterbury.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)