disperse

American  

[dih-spurs] / dɪˈspɜrs /

verb (used with object)

dispersed, dispersing

1. to drive or send off in various directions; scatter.

   to disperse a crowd.

   Antonyms:

   collect, combine

2. to spread widely; disseminate.

   to disperse knowledge.

   Synonyms:

   broadcast, sow

3. to dispel; cause to vanish.

   The wind dispersed the fog.

4. Physical Chemistry. to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.

5. Optics. to subject (light) to dispersion.

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verb (used without object)

dispersed, dispersing

1. to separate and move apart in different directions without order or regularity; become scattered.

   The crowd dispersed.

2. to be dispelled; be scattered out of sight; vanish.

   The smoke dispersed into the sky.

   Synonyms:

   evanesce, disappear

adjective

1. Physical Chemistry. noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.

disperse British  

/ dɪˈspɜːsɪdlɪ, dɪˈspɜːs /

verb

1. to scatter; distribute over a wide area

2. to dissipate or cause to dissipate

3. to leave or cause to leave a gathering, often in a random manner

4. to separate or be separated by dispersion

5. (tr) to diffuse or spread (news, information, etc)

6. to separate (particles) throughout a solid, liquid, or gas, as in the formation of a suspension or colloid

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adjective

1. of or consisting of the particles in a colloid or suspension

   disperse phase

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

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.

Example Sentences

If a serpent’s prey happens to have seeds in their cheeks, “they will disperse those seeds, acting as nature’s gardeners, pooping out the seeds in a little pile of fertilizer,” Taylor said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who visited troops in the Middle East over the weekend, said the U.S. military took steps to fortify and disperse forces at its bases in the region before strikes began.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

What are some fair ways for a later-in-life marriage to disperse wealth or plan for end of life?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

Nevertheless, as soon as Nerys's colleagues and customers see her working, operating machinery and loading and unloading materials, the looks of judgement disperse.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 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

Related Words

• break up
• circulate
• diffuse
• disappear
• disband
• discharge
• dislodge
• dispel
• dissipate
• dissolve
• scatter
• separate
• spray
• spread
• vanish