dispel
Americanverb (used with object)
-
dispels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dispelled,
past participle, past
-
dispelling
present participle
-
to drive off in various directions; disperse; dissipate.
to dispel the dense fog.
- Antonyms:
- gather
-
to cause to vanish; alleviate.
to dispel her fears.
verb
Synonym Usage
See scatter.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dispelsimple
-
dispelssimple
-
have dispelledperfect
-
has dispelledperfect
-
am dispellingprogressive
-
are dispellingprogressive
-
is dispellingprogressive
-
have been dispellingperfect progressive
-
has been dispellingperfect progressive
Past
-
dispelledsimple
-
had dispelledperfect
-
was dispellingprogressive
-
were dispellingprogressive
-
had been dispellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dispel
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin dispellere “to drive asunder,” equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + pellere “to drive”
Explanation
To dispel is to get rid of something that's bothering or threatening you, regardless of whether that's warts, worries, or wild dogs. The nifty thing about dispel is that you can use it when talking about emotional problems (such as worries and fears) as well as physical ones (such as wild dogs). Note, however, that when dispel is used in reference to physical foes, it often has the added meaning of scattering your opponents in all directions. So, while you can dispel a pack of wild dogs, you should just chase off or drive away a lone wolf. Good luck with that, by the way.
Vocabulary lists containing dispel
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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:
But it carries a price tag which will make a lot of people roll their eyes, and doesn't do much to dispel criticism that increasingly-costly VR headsets are pricing people out of the hobby.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
No amount of wealth can dispel retirement worries.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Marshaling an encyclopedic body of evolutionary and anthropological evidence, Mr. Lieberman, a paleoanthropologist at Harvard University, aims to dispel the monolithic thinking that dominates our approach to diet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
They must have hoped the photos would dispel conspiracy theories that he’s dead, or at least incapacitated.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
But when I returned, I wrote to her to dispel her fears.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In the interview, Balotelli dispels a few of the myths that had built up around him...
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
What Thompson-Hernández’s art so easily dispels, no matter the genre it finds a home in, are all the knotty, misguided and trite representations of otherness in our contemporary world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
While one of the hallmarks of Chekhov’s work is its emotional authenticity, “The Disappear” never quite dispels a feeling of artificiality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
As with most holiday-related rituals, digging into the history of the yule log as a TV tradition dispels some of its mystical wonder, revealing its origin in desperate necessity.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
Medical science does not seal the earth, whose nether creatures seep out, hair by hair, disguised like the smoke that dispels them.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
This was all watched by an impassive City chief executive Ferran Soriano, but any notion their fans would turn on the owners was dispelled by a flag reading: 'In Khaldoon We Trust.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
That dispelled some fears about whether its AI investments would actually show returns.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Through her media prominence and prolific output as an author, with a dozen books to her name, Steinem dispelled the stereotype of the humorless feminist simply by living.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
Any doubt about the identity of the unnamed malefactor was dispelled in the first footnote to the statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
This impression was dispelled early on when a probationer in Briony’s year, a large, kindly, slow-moving girl with a cow’s harmless gaze, met the lacerating force of the ward sister’s fury.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
By many accounts, Mallorca has succeeded in dispelling hard-partiers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Our findings show clear benefits in key areas of healthy ageing, while also dispelling some of the myths surrounding its use.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
A 2024 study by Penn State researchers found that approximately one in eight adults enjoy intensely sour flavors, dispelling claims that extreme tartness is only favored by children.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025
It comes as Nevada’s gaming market and tourism activity on the Strip has been unexpectedly strong this year, dispelling investors’ expectations of a downturn in business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2024
“You can kick both their tails for all I care, but do it somewhere else,” Jim said, dispelling any thought I might have had that he cared anything about me.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
