disseminate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disseminates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disseminated,
past participle, past
-
disseminating
present participle
verb
Usage
What does disseminate mean? To disseminate is to distribute, spread, broadcast, or disperse widely. The act or process of disseminating is dissemination. The word is especially used in reference to the distribution of information, or things that contain information, like files and documents. It is also associated with the official release of such information by organizations, such as a company that disseminates a press release or a government agency that disseminates information to the public. Example: Our chief media officer is responsible for disseminating press releases to various outlets.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disseminatesimple
-
disseminatessimple
-
have disseminatedperfect
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has disseminatedperfect
-
am disseminatingprogressive
-
are disseminatingprogressive
-
is disseminatingprogressive
-
have been disseminatingperfect progressive
-
has been disseminatingperfect progressive
Past
-
disseminatedsimple
-
had disseminatedperfect
-
was disseminatingprogressive
-
were disseminatingprogressive
-
had been disseminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disseminate
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin dissēminātus (past participle of dissēmināre; dis- dis- 1 + sēmināre “to sow”), equivalent to dis- + sēmin- (stem of sēmen “seed”) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Disseminate means to spread information, knowledge, opinions widely. Semin- derives from the Latin word for seed; the idea with disseminate is that information travels like seeds sown by a farmer. Think about a teacher distributing a hand out at the beginning of a class. The dis- of disseminate and distribute come from the same Latin prefix which means "apart, in a different direction." But unlike papers distributed in class, information, once spread around in all directions, cannot be pulled back in. Think about false rumors or political smear campaigns and you'll understand that dissemination is usually a one-way process.
Vocabulary lists containing disseminate
Hidden Figures
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Grade 11, List 5
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1984
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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:
"We urge the public not to disseminate related information, to reject cyberbullying, and to work together to create a good environment for the growth of minors," reads an official statement.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Neither Party shall disclose, reproduce, disseminate, use, or permit any third party to disclose, reproduce, disseminate, or use any Confidential Information without the prior written consent of the Confiding Party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
On Friday, Nestle refuted the accusations made by the watchdog, saying it reserved the right to respond in court "if Foodwatch continues to disseminate misleading information".
From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026
“Neither party shall post, upload or disseminate on the internet or any social media platforms, photographs, images, and or/information regarding the Minor Child,” court documents say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025
And with the steady advances in telecommunications, they would soon be able to disseminate their own digital content in so many new ways to so many more people.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
The letter said that project was aimed at assessing how the Secret Service identifies, receives, disseminates and operationalizes intelligence concerning threats to the officials it protects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
“If a city in a country wants to promote its tourism, its culture, that’s a very different thing from a paid advertisement that disseminates discriminatory messages,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025
"As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences."
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2025
The organization referenced by Mr. Jacobs is the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, or CAFT, a group that selects targets and disseminates information and resources to anti-fur activists on the ground.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
His composition always hastens to the most necessary point as its centre, and from that disseminates, to that leads back, as rays, all secondary ones.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 54, No. 338, December 1843 by Various
She said information disseminated by local organizations and churches has helped to clarify things.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
According to his death certificate, Busch died from hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation after complications from bacterial pneumonia led to sepsis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
The church denies that the aim of the lawsuit is to silence a popular maverick whose content is widely disseminated by critics of Mormonism.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
"Secondly, untrue facts are being disseminated on the basis of a one-sided account," it continued.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
It’s just...a possibility, like it’s a possibility that I could turn to dust in the next instant and be disseminated throughout the universe as an omniscient consciousness.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
In exceptional cases, disseminating footage that’s hard to stomach serves a noble objective.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
They called the medical groups’ request to block the vaccine panel from meeting publicly, and the HHS from disseminating information about immunization recommendations, “an extraordinarily unusual advice-banning” proposal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
They also agreed to "refrain from disseminating or promoting false information" in a bid to "foster an environment conducive to peaceful dialogue".
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025
Our job is to determine whether someone was engaged in journalism and whether their work involved gathering and disseminating news and information.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2025
They might “build on public panic to further destabilize the system by disseminating rumors” and therefore “increase media coverage” and “stress the public health system.”
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
