dissipated

American  

[dis-uh-pey-tid] / ˈdɪs əˌpeɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. indulging in or characterized by excessive devotion to pleasure; intemperate; dissolute.

---

dissipated British  

/ ˈdɪsɪˌpeɪtɪd /

adjective

1. indulging without restraint in the pursuit of pleasure; debauched

2. wasted, scattered, or exhausted

---

Other Word Forms

• dissipatedly adverb
• dissipatedness noun
• nondissipated adjective
• nondissipatedly adverb
• nondissipatedness noun
• undissipated adjective
• well-dissipated adjective

Etymology

Origin of dissipated

First recorded in 1600–10; dissipate + -ed ²

Explanation

If your Great Aunt Maude tells you you've become a dissipated bum, she means you don't think of anything but how much fun you're having. If you got a summer job and stopped playing arcade games all day, she might change her tune. The adjective dissipated is used to describe people who've lost their moral center, and instead of following the rules of conventional morals, prefer to be utterly self-indulgent. The word comes from the verb dissipate, which means "to disperse," but as an adjective it's always used for people who've gone wrong in some way. If you really want to lay into someone, use these synonyms and call him a "dissipated, dissolute, debauched, degenerate jerk."

Example Sentences

The power they had in qualification dissipated during the warm-up games.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

“It is the opinion of the Ford Motor Company that automobile exhaust gases are dissipated in the atmosphere quickly and do not present an air pollution problem.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The panic generated by Jamie Dimon’s “cockroaches” forewarning last October has never fully dissipated.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026

The storm clouds dissipated as fast as they’d gathered, and Jack knew the bad blood between brothers was all but forgotten.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

He waved his hand and the steam dissipated.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan