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Dispersed

4 dictionary results for: Dispersed

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

dis·perse

[di-spurs] Pronunciation Key verb, -persed, -pers·ing, adjective

–verb (used with object)

1.	to drive or send off in various directions; scatter: to disperse a crowd.

2.	to spread widely; disseminate: to disperse knowledge.

3.	to dispel; cause to vanish: The wind dispersed the fog.

4.	Physical Chemistry. to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.

5.	Optics. to subject (light) to dispersion.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to separate and move apart in different directions without order or regularity; become scattered: The crowd dispersed.

7.	to be dispelled; be scattered out of sight; vanish: The smoke dispersed into the sky.

–adjective

8.	Physical Chemistry. noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME dispersen, disparsen (< MF disperser) < L dispersus (ptp. of dispergere), equiv. to di- di-² + -sper(g)- scatter (s. of -spergere, comb. form of spargere to scatter, strew) + -sus ptp. suffix

]

—Related forms

dis·pers·ed·ly

[di-spur-sid-lee] Pronunciation Key, adverb

dis·pers·er, noun

dis·pers·i·bil·i·ty, noun

dis·pers·i·ble, adjective

—Synonyms 1. See scatter. 2. sow, broadcast. 7. disappear, evanesce.

—Antonyms 1. combine, collect.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

dis·perse   (dĭ-spûrs') Pronunciation Key
v.   dis·persed, dis·pers·ing, dis·pers·es

v.   tr.

1. To drive off or scatter in different directions: The police dispersed the crowd.
2. To strew or distribute widely: The airplane dispersed the leaflets over the city.
To cause to vanish or disappear. See Synonyms at scatter.
To disseminate (knowledge, for example).
To separate (light) into spectral rays.
To distribute (particles) evenly throughout a medium.

v. intr.

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

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

dis·pers'ed·ly (-spûr'sĭd-lē) adv., dis·pers'er n., dis·pers'i·ble adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

dispersed
adjective
distributed or spread over a considerable extent; "has ties with many widely dispersed friends"; "eleven million Jews are spread throughout Europe"

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Dispersed

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.

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