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
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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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.
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
A clean-up is under way after disorder was mainly concentrated along one street in the Greater Belfast area, where police deployed water cannon to disperse a crowd.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
An AFP photographer saw law enforcement use stun grenades to try disperse the crowds near Madison Square Garden.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
Typically, winds in the upper atmosphere can weaken or disperse gravity waves before they reach such heights.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
Mercifully, when Brundage stopped speaking the athletes were ushered back outside, where a light rain was falling and the crowds had begun to disperse.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
