| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
dissociation dis·so·ci·a·tion (dĭ-sō'sē-ā'shən, -shē-)
n.
The chemical process by which the action of a solvent or a change in physical condition, as in pressure or temperature, causes a molecule to split into simpler groups of atoms, single atoms, or ions.
The separation of an electrolyte into ions of opposite charge.
Separation of a group of related psychological activities into autonomously functioning units, as in the generation of multiple personalities.
| dissociation (dĭ-sō'sē-ā'shən) Pronunciation Key
The separation of a substance into two or more simpler substances, or of a molecule into atoms or ions, by the action of heat or a chemical process. Dissociation is usually reversible. |