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Definition of disperse
dispersed
;dispersing
transitive verb
1a : to cause to break up (see break up 1a) police dispersed the crowdb : to cause to become spread widely disperse the troopsc : to cause to evaporate or vanish sunlight dispersing the mist
2 : to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: such asa archaic : disseminate disperse the newsb physics : to subject to dispersion (see dispersion 4) disperse lightc chemistry : to distribute (something, such as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a medium
intransitive verb
1 : to break up in random fashion the crowd dispersed on request
2a : to become dispersed the particles dispersed throughout the mixtureb : dissipate, vanish the fog dispersed toward morning
disperser
nounExplore M-W
Examples of disperse in a Sentence
Police ordered the crowd to disperse.
the crowd dispersed once the show ended
Recent Examples of disperse from the Web
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Additional officers were asked to help disperse the crowd when a woman ran up and said there were several women fighting in a nearby parking lot on 18th Avenue, the affidavit said.
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The county dispersed the money after asking nonprofits that lost out on HUD funds to trim budgets and pursue other revenue sources.
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Police dispersed the crowds in Taksim and prevented a press statement but activists went live on Facebook, reading the statement, from multiple points in the city.
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Although our access to goods is being dispersed through distribution channels such as Amazon, people still need to congregate for other types of commerce.
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The crowd slowly dispersed as authorities issued two more warnings.
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Most of the crowds later dispersed, but there were calls for more marches next week.
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Throughout the weekend, teen leaders dispersed to different network groups and practiced useful tools and skills to take back to their youth groups and congregations.
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Despite this surface-level homogeneity, the underlying principles of consensual democracy—that power should be shared, dispersed, and restrained—can still be useful.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disperse'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of disperse
Middle English, from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergere to scatter, from dis- + spargere to scatter — more at spark
Synonym Discussion of disperse
DISPERSE Defined for English Language Learners
disperse
playDefinition of disperse for English Language Learners
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: to go or move in different directions : to spread apart
DISPERSE Defined for Kids
disperse
playDefinition of disperse for Students
dispersed
;dispersing
: to break up and scatter The clouds dispersed.
Medical Dictionary
disperse
playMedical Definition of disperse
dispersed
;dispersing
transitive verb
: to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: asa: to subject (as light) to dispersionb: to distribute (as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a mediumintransitive verb
: to become dispersed
Learn More about disperse
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See words that rhyme with disperse Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for disperse Spanish Central: Translation of disperse Nglish: Translation of disperse for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of disperse for Arabic speakers
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