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.
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
These "disperse the water on the surface of the dishes, helping them to dry at the end of the cycle and to run efficiently."
From BBC
Earlier models based on our solar system suggested that planets forming through core accretion would not have enough time to grow so massive before the young star dispersed the surrounding disk of gas.
From Science Daily
She dispersed from that area about a week ago.
From Los Angeles Times
In case of a Soviet attack, nukes dispersed in thousands of miles of cut-and-cover tunnels could be launched within 20 minutes.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
