dissolve
v.v. to mix a solid into a liquid until it becomes part of the liquid and disappears. It can also mean to officially end a group or an agreement.
v. to cause a solid to pass into solution; to bring to an end a formal assembly, partnership, or legal relationship.
Stir the water until the sugar starts to dissolve.
The board of directors voted to dissolve the partnership after several years of declining profits.
In parliamentary systems, the head of state may dissolve the legislature to trigger an early election, effectively ending the current session and resetting the political mandate.
Recorded since c. 1374 (displacing Old English toliesan) as Middle English dissolven, from Latin dissolvere (“to loosen up, break apart”) but with the sense from Anglo-Norman dissoldre (variant of Old French dissoudre), itself from dis- (“apart”) + solvere (“to loose, loosen”). By surface analysis, dis- + solve.
The verb is both transitive and intransitive. When used in a legal context, it typically takes a direct object such as 'marriage', 'partnership', or 'parliament'.
The sugar was dissolved into the water.The sugar dissolved in the water.While 'was dissolved' is grammatically possible, 'dissolve' is commonly used as an ergative verb where the substance itself is the subject.