dissipate

American  

[dis-uh-peyt] / ˈdɪs əˌpeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• dissipates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dissipated,
  past participle,  past
• dissipating
  present participle

1. to scatter in various directions; disperse; dispel.

   Antonyms:

   unite

2. to spend or use wastefully or extravagantly; squander; deplete.

   to dissipate one's talents; to dissipate a fortune on high living.

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verb (used without object)

• dissipates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dissipated,
  past participle,  past
• dissipating
  present participle

1. to become scattered or dispersed; be dispelled; disintegrate.

   The sun shone and the mist dissipated.

   Synonyms:

   vanish, disappear

   Antonyms:

   unite

2. to indulge in extravagant, intemperate, or dissolute pleasure.

dissipate British  

/ ˈdɪsɪˌpeɪt /

verb

1. to exhaust or be exhausted by dispersion

2. (tr) to scatter or break up

3. (intr) to indulge in the pursuit of pleasure

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Synonym Usage

See scatter.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dissipater
  noun
• dissipativity
  noun
• dissipator
  noun
• dissipative
  adjective
• nondissipative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dissipating
  present
• dissipated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dissipate
  simple
• dissipates
  simple
• have dissipated
  perfect
• has dissipated
  perfect
• am dissipating
  progressive
• are dissipating
  progressive
• is dissipating
  progressive
• have been dissipating
  perfect progressive
• has been dissipating
  perfect progressive

Past

• dissipated
  simple
• had dissipated
  perfect
• was dissipating
  progressive
• were dissipating
  progressive
• had been dissipating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dissipate
  simple
• will have dissipated
  perfect
• will be dissipating
  progressive
• will have been dissipating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dissipate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin dissipātus (past participle of dissipāre, dissupāre “to scatter”); see -ate ¹

Explanation

To dissipate is to disperse or fade away — as a bad smell will dissipate (usually) if you wait long enough. Dissipate can also mean “spend or use wastefully.” If you win the lottery, you might suddenly find yourself with a group of new friends encouraging you to dissipate your money (on them). Note that dissipate can be used with or without an object: "Once you dissipate your wealth, your new group of friends will dissipate without a trace."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dissipate dissipates dissipated dissipating

At any given moment, Scott Free has upward of 40 projects in development, although Scott says some of those eventually dissipate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Whether Microsoft’s report will cause “bear concerns” to dissipate is still up for debate.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Bertha is forecast to weaken back to a tropical depression on Thursday and may dissipate by the end of the week as it nears the Texas coast.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

At the same time, most thought that the Fed could keep interest rates where they are, or eventually lower them, if inflation pressures dissipate relatively soon, according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

I feel the power dissipate all around me, and then the earth settles.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Those drivers will reassert themselves as geopolitical stress dissipates, they said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

They forecast silver dropping to about $42 an ounce by the end of next year as exuberance over gold dissipates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025

Sunday: As the storm dissipates, most areas are projected to get 0.1 inch or less.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025

Boron arsenide has the potential to revolutionize electronics and semiconductor technology by providing a material that both dissipates heat effectively and performs as a high-quality semiconductor.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2025

She lifts the mask off her face and a white puff of aerosolized medicine dissipates in front of her.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

"The spirit of Anchorage has dissipated," said Russian political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov -- close to the ruling elite -- in August.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Wildlife experts and conservationists had previously observed that, in the wake of the storm, Tapanuli orangutan sightings had dissipated - fuelling speculation that the great apes may have been swept away by floods and landslides.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

If they are, will voters’ anger have dissipated?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

If there was any bad blood between Paxton and Middleton over these clashes, it seems to have dissipated in the years since.

From Salon ● May 23, 2026

I decided to hang out on the swing for a while, half because the heat had finally dissipated into a pleasant, if muggy, eighty-something, and half because I thought Alaska might show up.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

Power-sector demand will start the week lower with heat in the south dissipating and Texas even trending toward cooler than normal for mid-July, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

While the colder climate of space holds appeal for some backers of the galactic data-center vision, “there’s no airflow,” Huang noted, which could present challenges when it comes to dissipating heat.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 25, 2026

"The gas behaves like a perfect conductor; even though countless collisions occur between the atoms, quantities like mass and energy flow freely, without dissipating into the system."

From Science Daily ● Jan. 7, 2026

Winds are expected to continue dissipating this week, but it’s shaping up to be a short reprieve for fire-scarred Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025

“You forgot the bit about clouds dissipating and vanishing into nothing,” said Yvaine.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Related Words

• dispel
• disperse
• dissolve
• evaporate
• spread
• vanish