disperse

dis·perse

Use disperse in a sentence

verb

The definition of disperse is to cause to vanish.
An example of to disperse is when fog is blown away by wind.
To disperse is defined as to break up and spread in many directions.
1. An example of to disperse is when people in a crowd walk away from each other.
2. An example of to disperse is when light through a prism is broken up into the colors of the rainbow.

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"disperse." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Disperse>.

APA Style

disperse. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Disperse

disperse

transitive verb

-·persed′, -·pers′ing

to break up and scatter in all directions; spread about; distribute widely
to dispel (mist, etc.)
to break up (light) into its component colored rays

Origin of disperse

Middle English dispersen from Classical Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergere, to scatter abroad from dis-, out + spargere, to scatter, strew: see spark

to break up and move in different directions; scatter

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"disperse." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Disperse>.

APA Style

disperse. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Disperse

disperse

verb

dis·persed, dis·pers·ing, dis·pers·es

verb

transitive

a. To drive off or scatter in different directions: The police dispersed the crowd. See Synonyms at scatter.
b. To strew or distribute widely: The airplane dispersed the leaflets over the city.
To cause to attenuate and disappear: The sun dispersed the fog.
a. To separate (light) into spectral rays.
b. To distribute (particles) evenly throughout a medium.

verb

intransitive

To separate and move in different directions; scatter: The crowd dispersed once the concert ended.
To attenuate and vanish; dissipate: The storm clouds had dispersed by noon.

Origin of disperse

Middle English dispersen from Old French disperser from Latin dispergere dispers- to disperse dis- apart ; see dis- . spargere to scatter

Related Forms:

dis·pers′ed·ly
adverb

dis·pers′er
noun

dis·pers′i·ble
adjective

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"disperse." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Disperse>.

APA Style

disperse. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Disperse

Verb

(third-person singular simple present disperses, present participle dispersing, simple past and past participle dispersed)

(intransitive) To scatter in different directions
The Jews are dispersed among all nations.
(intransitive) To break up and disappear; to dissipate
(intransitive) To disseminate
(physics, intransitive) To separate rays of light etc. according to wavelength; to refract
(intransitive) To distribute throughout

Usage notes

Do not confuse with the monetary word disburse, despite similarity.

Anagrams

Origin

From French disperser, from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergere (“to scatter abroad, disperse”), from dis- (“apart”) + spargere (“to scatter”); see sparse.

See also: dispersé

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.