disperse
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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
Related Words
See scatter.
Other Word Forms
- dispersedly adverb
- disperser noun
- dispersibility noun
- dispersible adjective
- predisperse verb (used with object)
- redisperse verb
- undispersed adjective
- undispersing adjective
- well-dispersed adjective
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
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.
Officers dispersed the crowd, impounded two cars and issued seven parking citations.
From Los Angeles Times
"At this stage, we have no information that the fuel has started to disperse," the civil protection service's press chief, Pierfrancesco Demilito, told a news conference.
From Barron's
The Israeli police then pushed back the worshippers, who dispersed without resistance into the narrow streets, buying still-warm bread from street stalls as they went.
From Barron's
Main character Kliff is a member of the Greymanes, a warrior clan whose members are dispersed around the continent by the rival Black Bears.
From BBC
Max Liu, an AI entrepreneur who has worked with several local AI startup teams, told AFP that Alibaba's "previous structure was too dispersed, making it hard for all departments to work together".
From Barron's
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.
