Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Dissolve \Dis*solve"\, v. i.
   1. To waste away; to be dissipated; to be decomposed or
      broken up.

   2. To become fluid; to be melted; to be liquefied.

            A figure Trenched in ice, which with an hour's heat
            Dissolves to water, and doth lose his form. --Shak.

   3. To fade away; to fall to nothing; to lose power.

            The charm dissolves apace.            --Shak.

Dissolve \Dis*solve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Dissolved}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Dissolving}.] [L. dissolvere, dissolutum; dis- +
   solvere to loose, free. See {Solve}, and cf. {Dissolute}.]
   1. To separate into competent parts; to disorganize; to break
      up; hence, to bring to an end by separating the parts,
      sundering a relation, etc.; to terminate; to destroy; to
      deprive of force; as, to dissolve a partnership; to
      dissolve Parliament.

            Lest his ungoverned rage dissolve the life. --Shak.

   2. To break the continuity of; to disconnect; to disunite; to
      sunder; to loosen; to undo; to separate.

            Nothing can dissolve us.              --Shak.

            Down fell the duke, his joints dissolved asunder.
                                                  --Fairfax.

            For one people to dissolve the political bands which
            have connected them with another.     --The
                                                  Declaration of
                                                  Independence.

   3. To convert into a liquid by means of heat, moisture,
      etc.,; to melt; to liquefy; to soften.

            As if the world were all dissolved to tears. --Shak.

   4. To solve; to clear up; to resolve. ``Dissolved the
      mystery.'' --Tennyson.

            Make interpretations and dissolve doubts. --Dan. v.
                                                  16.

   5. To relax by pleasure; to make powerless.

            Angels dissolved in hallelujahs lie.  --Dryden.

   6. (Law) To annul; to rescind; to discharge or release; as,
      to dissolve an injunction.

   Syn: See {Adjourn}.

Source : WordNet®

dissolve
     v 1: cause to go into a solution; "The recipe says that we should
          dissolve a cup of sugar in two cups of water" [syn: {resolve},
           {break up}]
     2: pass into a solution; "The sugar quickly dissolved in the
        coffee"
     3: become weaker; "The sound faded out" [syn: {fade out}, {fade
        away}]
     4: come to an end; "Their marriage dissolved"; "The tobacco
        monopoly broke up" [syn: {break up}]
     5: stop functioning or cohering as a unit; "The political wing
        of the party dissolved after much internal fighting" [syn:
         {disband}]
     6: cause to lose control emotionally; "The news dissolved her
        into tears"
     7: lose control emotionally; "She dissolved into tears when she
        heard that she had lost all her savings in the pyramid
        scheme"
     8: cause to fade away; "dissolve a shot or a picture"
     9: become or cause to become soft or liquid; "The sun melted
        the ice"; "the ice thawed"; "the ice cream melted"; "The
        heat melted the wax"; "The giant iceberg dissolved over
        the years during the global warming phase"; "dethaw the
        meat" [syn: {thaw}, {unfreeze}, {unthaw}, {dethaw}, {melt}]
     10: bring the association of to an end or cause to break up;
         "The decree officially dissolved the marriage"; "the
         judge dissolved the tobacco company" [syn: {break up}]
     11: declare void; "The President dissolved the parliament and
         called for new elections" [syn: {dismiss}]

dissolve
     n : (film) a gradual transition from one scene to the next; the
         next scene is gradually superimposed as the former scene
         fades out