verb (used with object), dis·persed, dis·pers·ing.
- to drive or send off in various directions; scatter: to disperse a crowd.
- to spread widely; disseminate: to disperse knowledge.
- to dispel; cause to vanish: The wind dispersed the fog.
- Physical Chemistry. to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.
- Optics. to subject (light) to dispersion.
verb (used without object), dis·persed, dis·pers·ing.
- to separate and move apart in different directions without order or regularity; become scattered: The crowd dispersed.
- to be dispelled; be scattered out of sight; vanish: The smoke dispersed into the sky.
adjective
- Physical Chemistry. noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.
verb
- to scatter; distribute over a wide area
- to dissipate or cause to dissipate
- to leave or cause to leave a gathering, often in a random manner
- to separate or be separated by dispersion
- (tr) to diffuse or spread (news, information, etc)
- to separate (particles) throughout a solid, liquid, or gas, as in the formation of a suspension or colloid
adjective
- of or consisting of the particles in a colloid or suspensiondisperse phase
late 14c., from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergere “to scatter,” from dis- “apart, in every direction” (see dis-) + spargere “to scatter” (see sparse). The Latin word is glossed in Old English by tostregdan. Related: Dispersed; dispersing.
v.
- To cause to separate and move in different directions; scatter.
- To cause to vanish or disappear.