Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   Dis·perse

   /dəˈspərs/

   

   verb

   • 1. distribute or spread over a wide area: "storms can disperse seeds via high altitudes" Similar scatterdisseminatedistributespreadbroadcastdiffusestrewsowsprinklepepperliterary:bestrewbesprinkleOpposite gather
   • ▪ go or cause to go in different directions or to different destinations: "the crowd dispersed" Similar break upsplit updisbandseparatescatterleavego their separate waysgo in different directionsdispeldrive awaydrive offchase awayput to flightbanishget rid ofrare:disuniteOpposite assemble
   • ▪ (with reference to gas, smoke, mist, or cloud) thin out or cause to thin out and disappear: "the earlier mist had dispersed" Similar dissipatebe dispelledthin outdissolvemelt awayfade awayvanishdisappearclearliftrise
   • ▪ divide (light) into constituents of different wavelengths: "the ability of a material to disperse light by refraction"
   • ▪ distribute (small particles) uniformly in a medium.

   adjective

   • 1. denoting a phase dispersed in another phase, as in a colloid: "emulsions should be examined after storage for droplet size of the disperse phase"

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin dispers- ‘scattered’, from the verb dispergere, from dis- ‘widely’ + spargere ‘scatter, strew’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. disperser noun
   • 2. dispersible adjective
   • 3. dispersive adjective

   Scrabble Points: 11

   • D

     2

   • I

     1

   • S

     1

   • P

     3

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

   • S

     1

   • E

     1

   Powered by Oxford Languages

   More Definitions, Word Origin & ScrabbleShow less