Meanings
nounfission (countable and uncountable, plural fissions)
plural fissions
- countableuncountableThe process whereby one item splits to become two.
- countableuncountablenuclear physicsnuclear fission: The process of splitting the nucleus of an atom into smaller particles.
- countableuncountablebiologyThe process by which a bacterium splits to form two daughter cells.
Synonyms: fissiparism
verbfission (third-person singular simple present fissions, present participle fissioning, simple past and past participle fissioned)
present singular third person fissions · participle present fissioning · participle past fissioned · past fissioned
- intransitiveTo undergo fission.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe process by which a bacterium splits to form two daughter cells.
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More synonyms by meaning
nouna nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy
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Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinfissiōnem
- Englishfission
Borrowed from Latin fissiōnem, accusative singular of fissiō (“the act of breaking up”), from findō (“split, divide”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic اِنْقِسَام, انقسام
- اِنْقِسَام (inqisām)process whereby one item splits to become two
- انقسامprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
Bulgarian разцепване, делене
- разцепване (razcepvane)process whereby one item splits to become two
- делене (delene)process by which a bacterium splits into two
Chinese Mandarin 分裂, 分裂生殖
- 分裂 (fēnliè)process whereby one item splits to become two
- 分裂生殖 (fēnliè shēngzhí)process by which a bacterium splits into two
Czech štěpení
- štěpeníprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
Danish fission, deling
- fissionprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- delingprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- celledelingprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
Dutch splitsing
- splitsingprocess whereby one item splits to become two
Finnish fissio, halkeaminen
- fissioprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- halkeaminenprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- jakautuminenprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- jakautuminenprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
- fissioidato cause to undergo fission
- fissioituato undergo fission
French fission, scissiparité
- fissionprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
- scissiparitéprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
- fissionnerto cause to undergo fission
German Spaltung, Zellteilung
- Spaltungprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- Zellteilungprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
- spaltento cause to undergo fission
Greek διάσπαση, πυρηνοτομία
- διάσπαση (diáspasi)process whereby one item splits to become two
- πυρηνοτομία (pyrinotomía)process by which a bacterium splits into two
Hindi विखण्डन, विखंडन
- विखण्डन (vikhaṇḍan)process whereby one item splits to become two
- विखंडन (vikhaṇḍan)process whereby one item splits to become two
- द्विखण्डन (dvikhaṇḍan)process by which a bacterium splits into two
Hungarian hasadás, osztódás
- hasadásprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- osztódásprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
Icelandic skipting, skipting
- skiptingprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- skiptingprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
Italian fissione, divisione
- fissioneprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- divisioneprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- fissionareto cause to undergo fission
Japanese 分裂
- 分裂 (bunretsu)process whereby one item splits to become two
Korean 분열
- 분열 (bunyeol)process whereby one item splits to become two
Māori wehekarihi
- wehekarihiprocess whereby one item splits to become two
Norwegian spalting
- spaltingprocess whereby one item splits to become two
Norwegian Bokmål fisjon
- fisjonprocess whereby one item splits to become two
Polish rozszczepienie, podział
- rozszczepienieprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- podziałprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
- rozszczepićto cause to undergo fission
- rozszczepić sięto undergo fission
Portuguese fissão, fissão
- fissãoprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- fissãoprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
- fissionarto cause to undergo fission
Romanian fisiune
- fisiuneprocess whereby one item splits to become two
Russian расщепле́ние, деле́ние
- расщепле́ние (rasščeplénije)process whereby one item splits to become two
- деле́ние (delénije)process by which a bacterium splits into two
- расщеплять (rasščepljatʹ)to cause to undergo fission
- расщепляться (rasščepljatʹsja)to undergo fission
Spanish fisión, fisión
- fisiónprocess whereby one item splits to become two
- fisiónprocess by which a bacterium splits into two
- fisionarto cause to undergo fission
Ukrainian розще́плення
- розще́плення (rozščéplennja)process whereby one item splits to become two
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with fission
editionpositioncommissionconditionadditiondecisiondivisionmissiontelevisionvisionpermissionnutritionrevisiontransmissionsubmissiontransitionacquisitionadmissionexhibitiontraditionprecisiontuitionemissionpartition
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
fission. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fission
MLA
“fission.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fission. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fission,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fission.
Source: fission on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.