Adjacent Words

Disperse definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISPERSE, v.t. dispers. [L., to scatter.]
1. To scatter; to drive asunder; to cause to separate into different parts; as, the Jews are dispersed among all nations.
2. To diffuse; to spread.
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. Proverbs 15.
3. To dissipate; as, the fog or the cloud is dispersed.
4. To distribute.
DISPERSE, v.i. dispers.
1. To be scattered; to separate; to go or move into different parts; as, the company dispersed at ten oclock.
2. To be scattered; to vanish; as fog or vapors.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: distribute loosely; "He scattered gun powder under the wagon" [syn: scatter, sprinkle, dot, dust, disperse]
2: to cause to separate and go in different directions; "She waved her hand and scattered the crowds" [syn: disperse, dissipate, dispel, break up, scatter]
3: cause to separate; "break up kidney stones"; "disperse particles" [syn: break up, disperse, scatter]
4: move away from each other; "The crowds dispersed"; "The children scattered in all directions when the teacher approached"; [syn: disperse, dissipate, scatter, spread out]
5: separate (light) into spectral rays; "the prosm disperses light"
6: cause to become widely known; "spread information"; "circulate a rumor"; "broadcast the news" [syn: circulate, circularize, circularise, distribute, disseminate, propagate, broadcast, spread, diffuse, disperse, pass around]

Merriam Webster's

verb (dispersed; dispersing) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergere to scatter, from dis- + spargere to scatter — more at spark Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to cause to break up <police dispersed the crowd> b. to cause to become spread widely c. to cause to evaporate or vanish <sunlight dispersing the mist> 2. to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: as a. archaic disseminate b. to subject (as light) to dispersion c. to distribute (as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a medium intransitive verb 1. to break up in random fashion <the crowd dispersed on request> 2. a. to become dispersed b. dissipate, vanish <the fog dispersed toward morning> Synonyms: see scatter • dispersedly adverb • disperser noun • dispersible adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 intr. & tr. go, send, drive, or distribute in different directions or over a wide area. 2 a intr. (of people at a meeting etc.) leave and go their various ways. b tr. cause to do this. 3 tr. send to or station at separate points. 4 tr. put in circulation; disseminate. 5 tr. Chem. distribute (small particles) uniformly in a medium. 6 tr. Physics divide (white light) into its coloured constituents. Derivatives: dispersable adj. dispersal n. disperser n. dispersible adj. dispersive adj. Etymology: ME f. L dispergere dispers- (as DIS-, spargere scatter)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Disperse Dis*perse", v. i. 1. To separate; to go or move into different parts; to vanish; as, the company dispersed at ten o'clock; the clouds disperse. 2. To distribute wealth; to share one's abundance with others. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor. --Ps. cxii. 9.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Disperse Dis*perse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dispersed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dispersing.] [L. dispersus, p. p. of dispergere to strew, scatter. See Sparse.] 1. To scatter abroad; to drive to different parts; to distribute; to diffuse; to spread; as, the Jews are dispersed among all nations. The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. --Prov. xv. 7. Two lions, in the still, dark night, A herd of beeves disperse. --Cowper. 2. To scatter, so as to cause to vanish; to dissipate; as, to disperse vapors. Dispersed are the glories. --Shak. Syn: To scatter; dissipate; dispel; spread; diffuse; distribute; deal out; disseminate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(disperses, dispersing, dispersed) 1. When something disperses or when you disperse it, it spreads over a wide area. The oil appeared to be dispersing... The intense currents disperse the sewage... VERB: V, V n 2. When a group of people disperses or when someone disperses them, the group splits up and the people leave in different directions. Police fired shots and used teargas to disperse the demonstrators... The crowd dispersed peacefully after prayers. = break up VERB: V n, V

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Scatter, separate, dissipate, dispel, drive to different parts, scatter to the winds. 2. Diffuse, disseminate, spread, scatter abroad, sow broadcast. II. v. n. 1. Scatter, separate, be scattered, go different ways. 2. Break up or away, vanish, disappear, be dispelled, be dissipated.

Moby Thesaurus

administer, atomize, be consumed, be gone, bend, bestrew, bias, branch, branch out, break into pieces, break to pieces, break up, broadcast, cease, cease to be, cease to exist, circulate, circumfuse, crash, crook, crunch, crush, curve, cut to pieces, deactivate, deal, deal out, debrief, deflect, dematerialize, demob, demobilize, demolish, depart, deploy, detach, deviate, die, die away, die out, diffract, diffuse, disappear, disband, disburse, discharge, disintegrate, disjoin, dismiss, disorganize, dispel, dispense, dispose, dispread, disrupt, disseminate, dissipate, dissolve, distort, distribute, diverge, divert, divide, divvy, do a fade-out, dogleg, dole, dole out, dwindle, ease, ease off, emanate, erode, evanesce, evaporate, exit, expand, extend, fade, fade away, fade out, fan, fan out, fission, flare, flee, fly, fragment, free, give out, go, go away, go separate ways, grind, hairpin, hide, issue, leave no trace, leave the scene, let go, let up, loose, loosen, make mincemeat of, measure out, melt, melt away, mete, mete out, mince, muster out, open, open up, outspread, outstretch, overgrow, overrun, overscatter, oversow, overspread, parcel out, part, part company, partition, pass, pass around, pass away, pass out, pay out, perish, portion out, propagate, publish, pull, pulverize, radiate, ramify, ray, refract, relax, release, retail, retire from sight, rout, scatter, send away, send off, separate, shatter, shiver, sink, sink away, skew, slack, slack off, slacken, smash, smash up, sow, sow broadcast, splay, splinter, split up, spoon out, spraddle, sprangle, sprawl, spread, spread like wildfire, spread out, squash, squish, strew, suffer an eclipse, turn, twist, unfold, unglue, unleash, unstick, utter, vanish, vanish from sight, warp, waste, waste away, wear away, widen, zigzag