Nearby Words
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.
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Disperse
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is sycophant. Does it mean:
| prod |
| one who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people |
adjective
8.
Physical Chemistry. noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English dispersen, disparsen (< Middle French disperser) < 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
1350–1400; Middle English dispersen, disparsen (< Middle French disperser) < 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
Related forms
dis·pers·er, noun
dis·pers·i·bil·i·ty, noun
dis·pers·i·ble, adjective
pre·dis·perse, verb (used with object), -persed, -pers·ing.
EXPANDre·dis·perse, verb, -persed, -pers·ing.
un·dis·persed, adjective
un·dis·pers·ing, adjective
well-dis·persed, adjective
COLLAPSEAntonyms
1. combine, collect.
1. combine, collect.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To disperse
Example Sentences
- Protective padding, clothing, and helmets disperse the impact of falls.
- Campus officers called in the Lewiston police for assistance, but some partiers still refused to disperse.
- Police had to disperse them.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
disperse
mid-15c., from M.Fr. disperser "scatter," from L. dispersus, pp. of dispergere "to scatter," from dis- "apart, in every direction" + spargere "to scatter" (see sparse). The L. word is glossed in O.E. by tostregdan. Related: Dispersed; dispersing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
disperse dis·perse (dĭ-spûrs')
v. dis·persed, dis·pers·ing, dis·pers·es
To cause to separate and move in different directions; scatter.
To cause to vanish or disappear.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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