What is "solvolysis"

n. (context chemistry English) any reaction, between a solute and its solvent, in which one or more bonds of the solute are broken; specifically a substitution, elimination or fragmentation reaction in which the solvent is the nucleophile

Solvolysis is a special type of nucleophilic substitution (S1) or elimination where the nucleophile is a solvent molecule. For certain nucleophiles, there are specific terms for the type of solvolysis reaction. For water, the term is hydrolysis; for alcohols, it is alcoholysis; for ammonia, it is ammonolysis; for glycols, it is glycolysis; for amines, it is aminolysis.