dispersive

American

[dih-spur-siv] / dɪˈspɜr sɪv /

adjective

serving or tending to disperse.

dispersive British

/ dɪˈspɜːsɪv /

adjective

tending or serving to disperse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

dispersively adverb
dispersiveness noun
nondispersive adjective

Etymology

Origin of dispersive

First recorded in 1620–30; disperse + -ive

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.

This dramatic disparity between electron and hole-carrier transport is attributed to spatially separated electronic states near the Fermi level, which consists of dispersive and flat bands.

From Science Daily

The exhaustive report was the product of a six-month effort, including 3D microscopes, infrared spectroscopy and "energy dispersive X-ray analysis".

From BBC

In the early 1990s, Bourgain launched the modern era for dispersive, nonlinear partial differential equations.

From Nature

The questions hover over this dispersive novel like feedback resounding lowly.

From Los Angeles Times

This happens because ocean waves are dispersive, meaning that the speed of the wave depends on the period.

From Time

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023