disperse
Americanverb (used with object)
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disperses,
present (3rd person singular)
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dispersed,
past participle, past
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dispersing
present participle
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to drive or send off in various directions; scatter.
to disperse a crowd.
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to spread widely; disseminate.
to disperse knowledge.
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to dispel; cause to vanish.
The wind dispersed the fog.
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Physical Chemistry. to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.
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Optics. to subject (light) to dispersion.
verb (used without object)
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disperses,
present (3rd person singular)
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dispersed,
past participle, past
-
dispersing
present participle
adjective
verb
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to scatter; distribute over a wide area
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to dissipate or cause to dissipate
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to leave or cause to leave a gathering, often in a random manner
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to separate or be separated by dispersion
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(tr) to diffuse or spread (news, information, etc)
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to separate (particles) throughout a solid, liquid, or gas, as in the formation of a suspension or colloid
adjective
Synonym Usage
See scatter.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dispersernoun
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dispersibilitynoun
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redisperseverb
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predisperseverb (used with object)
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dispersibleadjective
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undispersedadjective
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undispersingadjective
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well-dispersedadjective
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dispersedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dispersesimple
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dispersessimple
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have dispersedperfect
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has dispersedperfect
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am dispersingprogressive
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are dispersingprogressive
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is dispersingprogressive
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have been dispersingperfect progressive
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has been dispersingperfect progressive
Past
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dispersedsimple
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had dispersedperfect
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was dispersingprogressive
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were dispersingprogressive
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had been dispersingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disperse
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dispersen, disparsen (from Middle French disperser, ) from Latin dispersus (past participle of dispergere ), equivalent to di- di- 2 + -sper(g)- “scatter” (stem of -spergere, combining form of spargere “to scatter, strew”) + -sus past participle suffix
Explanation
To make a crowd at a party disperse, you could take away the food, turn off the music and ask for volunteers to clean up. Disperse is to spread out people or things, making them move in different directions. Imagine yourself standing on a basketball court holding a cup packed tight with marbles. If you turn it over, the marbles will disperse across the floor, moving away from you in all directions. Another word for this is scatter. Don't confuse this word with disburse, which means to distribute money. Remember that false friends disperse when you cease to disburse.
Vocabulary lists containing disperse
Fahrenheit 451
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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All American Boys
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Astronomers estimate that the Lion Nebula will eventually disperse in approximately 10,000 years.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Despite police efforts to disperse them, large crowds remain at the site.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Finally, the U.S. needs to disperse facilities, such as naval and air bases, to make it more difficult for adversaries to attack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
According to the Associated Press, Berlin police used water cannons — normally used to disperse protesters — to cool down cheering crowds in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
After allowing them to disperse about the lake, we catch another hundred fish and see what fraction of them are marked.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
The heat is affecting how air pollution disperses over the region, National Weather Service meteorologist Carol Ciliberti said Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
But as tech talent disperses to the likes of Austin, Texas, that reason may become less important.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Simple things like the way your body disperses fat, aging, or skin laxity can create asymmetry.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026
For the first time, this proves it is possible to study pollution from re-entering rockets at such heights before it disperses, the scientists said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
He moves closer to me as Pri’s circle disperses and people start to crowd back onto the dance floor.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
Consider the analyst estimates for Oracle and how widely dispersed they are relative to the average.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Upon their arrival, the troops dispersed the Israeli civilians and allowed the vehicles to continue on their way,” it said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Rather than modifying the ink with surfactants or chemically altering the particles, they dispersed nanoscale ultra fine bubbles throughout the liquid.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
No other injuries were reported from the incident and the group dispersed, with the road re-opening from around 01:00 BST, the Met said.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The group gave a huge cheer, then dispersed to their jobs.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Rather than dispersing evenly in every direction, heat can follow routes determined by the structure of a crystal.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Brinkema barred the justice department from taking any steps to stand up or operate the fund - including processing or dispersing claims - until a preliminary hearing on 12 June.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Counter-protesters showed up toward the end and shouted toward the Hernandez supporters and the two sides exchanged some words before dispersing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
“The proposal maintains one distinctly Black-influence district while dispersing Black voters among other districts,” Phillip Thompson, executive director of the National Black Nonpartisan Redistricting Organization, wrote for the Virginia Mercury in March.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
Soon enough there will be sorting and dispersing, but now it’s the museum backdrop for the exhibition of grief.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
