disperse

UK: /dɪˈspɜː^rs/ US: /dɪˈspɝs/ ,(di spûrs′)

Inflections of 'disperse' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

disperses

v 3rd person singular

dispersing

v pres p

dispersed

v past

dispersed

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

dis•perse /dɪˈspɜrs/   v., -persed, -pers•ing. 

1. to (cause to) separate and move in different directions;
   (cause to) become scattered: [no object]
   The crowd dispersed when the police arrived.
   [~ + object]
   The riot police dispersed the crowd.
2. to spread widely;
   disseminate:
   [~ + object] The seeds were dispersed on the plowed land.
3. to (cause to) vanish: [no object]
   When the sun came out, the fog dispersed.
   [~ + object]
   The wind dispersed the fog.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

dis•perse  (di spûrs′), v., -persed, -pers•ing, adj. 
v.t. 

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. Chemistry [Physical Chem.] to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.
5. Optics to subject (light) to dispersion.

v.i. 

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.

adj. 

8. Chemistry [Physical Chem.] noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.

• 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
• Middle French disperser)
• Middle English dispersen, disparsen (1350–1400

dis•pers′ed•ly  (di spûr′sid lē), adv.  dis•pers′er, n. 
dis•pers′i•bil′i•ty, n. 
dis•pers′i•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. See scatter. 
• 2. sow, broadcast.
• 7. disappear, evanesce.

Antonyms

• 1. combine, collect.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

disperse / dɪˈspɜːs/ verb

1. to scatter; distribute over a wide area
2. to dissipate or cause to dissipate
3. to leave or cause to leave a gathering, often in a random manner
4. to separate or be separated by dispersion
5. (transitive) to diffuse or spread (news, information, etc)
6. to separate (particles) throughout a solid, liquid, or gas, as in the formation of a suspension or colloid

adjective

1. of or consisting of the particles in a colloid or suspension: disperse phase

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin dispērsus scattered, from dispergere to scatter widely, from di-² + spargere to strew

disˈperser noun

USAGE
disburse