dissipate

[dis-uh-peyt]

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verb (used with object), dis·si·pat·ed, dis·si·pat·ing.

to scatter in various directions; disperse; dispel.

to spend or use wastefully or extravagantly; squander; deplete: to dissipate one's talents; to dissipate a fortune on high living.

verb (used without object), dis·si·pat·ed, dis·si·pat·ing.

to become scattered or dispersed; be dispelled; disintegrate: The sun shone and the mist dissipated.

to indulge in extravagant, intemperate, or dissolute pleasure.

Origin of dissipate

1525–35; < Latin dissipātus (past participle of dissipāre, dissupāre to scatter); see -ate¹

Related formsdis·si·pat·er, dis·si·pa·tor, noundis·si·pa·tive, adjectivedis·si·pa·tiv·i·ty

[dis-uh-puh-tiv-i-tee] /ˌdɪs ə pəˈtɪv ɪ ti/, nounnon·dis·si·pa·tive, adjective

Synonyms for dissipate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dissipate ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See scatter. 3. disappear, vanish.

Antonyms for dissipate

1, 3. unite.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dissipating

deplete, evaporate, dispel, spread, disperse, vanish, dissolve, blow, consume, dump, lavish, misspend, misuse, waste, squander, evanesce, scatter

Examples from the Web for dissipating

Contemporary Examples of dissipating

This fear, while still evident in some areas, appears to be dissipating.
Women Are Leading the Way for Legalized Weed
Abby Haglage
December 4, 2014
If this were just about Planned Parenthood or yet another battle over abortion, the outrage would be dissipating.
Komen Incites Women’s ‘Tahrir Square Moment’
Gloria Feldt
February 6, 2012
The momentum that both sides had developed for peace was dissipating rapidly.
Memo to Hillary: Remember Bill's Mideast Bungle
Patrick Tyler
January 13, 2009

Historical Examples of dissipating

The scene steadied; the whiteness was dissipating like mist in summer.
Pygmalion's Spectacles
Stanley Grauman Weinbaum
Over us, the barrage curtain was dissipating, sight and sound coming in to us.
Wandl the Invader
Raymond King Cummings
The last word had been that the two had grounded and that the weather front was dissipating.
Attrition
Jim Wannamaker
I did not mind his dissipating my own fortune; the money is nothing to me.
The Secret House
Edgar Wallace
"Dissipating hard, I suppose you mean," said the doctor with a smile.
The Threatening Eye
Edward Frederick Knight

British Dictionary definitions for dissipating

dissipate

verb

to exhaust or be exhausted by dispersion

(tr) to scatter or break up

(intr) to indulge in the pursuit of pleasure

Derived Formsdissipater or dissipator, noundissipative, adjective

Word Origin for dissipate

C15: from Latin dissipāre to disperse, from dis- 1 + supāre to throw

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

Word Origin and History for dissipating

dissipate

early 15c., from Latin dissipatus, past participle of dissipare "to spread abroad, scatter, disperse; squander, disintegrate," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + supare "to throw, scatter," from PIE *swep- "to throw, sling, cast" (cf. Lithuanian supu "to swing, rock," Old Church Slavonic supo "to strew"). Related: Dissipated; dissipates; dissipating.