disperse
Americanverb (used with object)
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to drive or send off in various directions; scatter.
to disperse a crowd.
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to spread widely; disseminate.
to disperse knowledge.
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to dispel; cause to vanish.
The wind dispersed the fog.
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Physical Chemistry. to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.
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Optics. to subject (light) to dispersion.
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
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to scatter; distribute over a wide area
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to dissipate or cause to dissipate
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to leave or cause to leave a gathering, often in a random manner
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to separate or be separated by dispersion
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(tr) to diffuse or spread (news, information, etc)
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to separate (particles) throughout a solid, liquid, or gas, as in the formation of a suspension or colloid
adjective
Related Words
See scatter.
Other Word Forms
- dispersedly adverb
- disperser noun
- dispersibility noun
- dispersible adjective
- predisperse verb (used with object)
- redisperse verb
- undispersed adjective
- undispersing adjective
- well-dispersed adjective
Etymology
Origin of disperse
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dispersen, disparsen (from Middle French disperser, ) from Latin dispersus (past participle of dispergere ), equivalent to di- di- 2 + -sper(g)- “scatter” (stem of -spergere, combining form of spargere “to scatter, strew”) + -sus past participle suffix
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.
Sharpe also says that Iran's drones and missile capabilities "are massively dispersed".
From BBC
Footage from local media showed police using tear gas to disperse people who approached the crash site to gather the money.
From Barron's
The California types risk being overly provincial here, as if movie and TV production aren’t already being dispersed to global production centers and, indeed, into cyberspace with AI.
As Police Squad’s Frank Drebbin said, while standing in front of an exploding fireworks factory: “Nothing to see here, folks. Please disperse.”
From MarketWatch
Crocodiles defend nests and newly hatched young for a short time, but juveniles soon disperse and live on their own, taking years to reach full size.
From Science Daily
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.
