dissipate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to scatter in various directions; disperse; dispel.
- Antonyms:
- unite
-
to spend or use wastefully or extravagantly; squander; deplete.
to dissipate one's talents; to dissipate a fortune on high living.
verb
-
to exhaust or be exhausted by dispersion
-
(tr) to scatter or break up
-
(intr) to indulge in the pursuit of pleasure
Related Words
See scatter.
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing dissipate
List 1
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Night
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The Lightning Thief
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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.
He was, he writes, an “incorrigible satisficer” who minimized small decisions because “searching for the best can only dissipate scarce cognitive resources.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Powell and his team insisted that the rapid increase in prices in 2021 were “transitory” and would quickly dissipate.
From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026
Calculations suggest it would dissipate in less than 1000 years unless it is continuously replenished.
From Science Daily • May 5, 2026
“If this geopolitical overhang starts to dissipate, we think we get right back to a really strong fundamental picture for the economy,” he added.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
The uncertainty that lived inside me began to dissipate; the ache that the little boy who stared in the mirror felt was gone.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
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.
