1
as in to dissipate
to go off in different directions and cease to exist as a body or unified whole
the crowd dispersed once the show ended
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to scatter
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart
the family of the missing woman dispersed searchers to all corners of the national park
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to disband
to cease to exist or cause to cease to exist as a group or organization
the campaign staff dispersed almost immediately after the election
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disperse
Videos showed security forces deploying water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protesters gathered outside Nepal’s parliament building in Kathmandu.
—
Sugam Pokharel, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
In the center of it is a drainage canal in a wide valley that is designed to hold and safely disperse water.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
Shortly after the party disperses, the play’s director is shot in the back of the head.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
But once those legal barriers fell, African Americans dispersed their spending power.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disperse
Sugam Pokharel, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
In the center of it is a drainage canal in a wide valley that is designed to hold and safely disperse water.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
Shortly after the party disperses, the play’s director is shot in the back of the head.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
But once those legal barriers fell, African Americans dispersed their spending power.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disperse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disperse
Verb
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Kiko has dissipated in the central Pacific Ocean but there is a new disturbance forecasters are keeping tabs on.—
Gabe Hauari,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Instead of sound radiating out at all angles, the sound is redirected by solid glass upwards to initially dissipate vertically instead of horizontally.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Yet much of this information remains scattered in silos.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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The islands that scatter out into the warm Gulf and Atlantic waters at the base of Florida are truly a year-round destination.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Southern Living,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite being signed to the culture-changing label Sub Pop for four albums in the 2000s, Fruit Bats never achieved the same level of acclaim as many of their labelmates, like the Shins and Sleater Kinney, and Johnson disbanded the collective at the end of its 2013 tour.—
Daniel Kohn,
Rolling Stone,
14 Sep. 2025
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With the group only set to work together for two-and-a-half years, IZ*ONE managed to sell nearly three million records across their K- and J-pop releases before officially disbanding in April 2021.—
Jeff Benjamin,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But before long his hearing begins to disappear, leading him down a panicked trail of denial, anger and desperation.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Normally that motion disappears without a trace, but a growing field of research aims to capture it and turn it into electricity for sensors, wearable devices and other small electronics.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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If the stain isn’t completely dissolved by the end, at the very least, this method will dilute the mark significantly.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
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When heated slightly, this combo safely dissolves silver from old circuit boards, wires or keyboard connectors.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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After a pause, the composition takes on a searching quality, as the melody travels from one instrument to the next, including a compelling viola solo performed by principal viola Maiya Papach, eventually fading out to nothing, leaving the audience suspended in uneasy quiet.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
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The long-standing expectation was that these resonance signals would fade and become negligible as the momentum transfer increased.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disperse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disperse. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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