disperse
- to drive or send off in various directions; scatter: to disperse a crowd.
- to spread widely; disseminate: to disperse knowledge.
- to dispel; cause to vanish: The wind dispersed the fog.
- Physical Chemistry. to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.
- Optics. to subject (light) to dispersion.
- to separate and move apart in different directions without order or regularity; become scattered: The crowd dispersed.
- to be dispelled; be scattered out of sight; vanish: The smoke dispersed into the sky.
- Physical Chemistry. noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.
Origin of disperse
Synonyms for disperse
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for disperse
Related Words for dispersing
dispel, separate, dissolve, diffuse, dislodge, spray, spread, dissipate, disband, discharge, vanish, scatter, disappear, circulate, shed, dismiss, deal, eject, disseminate, routExamples from the Web for dispersing
Contemporary Examples of dispersing
The new government would have no more success in dispersing the Euromaidan “Security Patrol” than the Yanukovych government did.
The solution of dispersing the remedy in a giant cloud above the city is exactly from The Amazing Spider-Man.
Security sources say the children provide a serious logistical challenge to their efforts at dispersing the sit-in.
This time, instead of dispersing the crowd, the police response swelled its ranks exponentially.
They walked in silence until we came to Broadway, where a dozen or so police officers were dispersing a crowd of some sort.
Historical Examples of dispersing
Constance asked of Arthur later, when they were dispersing to their several occupations.
The ChanningsMrs. Henry Wood
Her departure was the signal for the dispersing of the party to their respective couches.
The StrollersFrederic S. Isham
The outer door had not closed before the tune of which he had spoken was dispersing it.
The Paliser caseEdgar Saltus
This had the desired effect of clearing the street and of dispersing the rioters.
Policing the PlainsR.G. MacBeth
The darkness is dispersing; the skies of the future are red with the coming day.
Glances at EuropeHorace Greeley
disperse
- to scatter; distribute over a wide area
- to dissipate or cause to dissipate
- to leave or cause to leave a gathering, often in a random manner
- to separate or be separated by dispersion
- (tr) to diffuse or spread (news, information, etc)
- to separate (particles) throughout a solid, liquid, or gas, as in the formation of a suspension or colloid
- of or consisting of the particles in a colloid or suspensiondisperse phase
Word Origin for disperse
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Word Origin and History for dispersing
disperse
disperse
(dĭ-spûrs′)- To cause to separate and move in different directions; scatter.
- To cause to vanish or disappear.