disseminate
verb
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Disseminating Information on Disseminate
While the object of the verb disseminate may be something tangible, such as an infectious agent, nowadays the thing most often disseminated, or "spread abroad as though sowing seed," is information. Where does this metaphorical verb come from? In Latin, the dis- prefix signifies separation or dispersal, while the -sem- element springs from semen "seed." The same Latin noun is found in a number of other English words with figurative meanings: seminary (which now is a training facility for priests, but initially was a place where seeds were raised to plants), seminal (meaning "containing the seeds of later development"), and yes, the word semen.
Examples of disseminate in a Sentence
Steve Coll, New Yorker, 8 Sept. 2008
Jefferson helped found and back a friendly newspaper, the National Gazette, to help disseminate his views.
—Walter Kim, Time, 5 July 2004
In this case, the filmmakers did not prevent information from being disseminated. And they have no greater moral obligation than do the highly paid Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather to help a TV network keep down its costs.
—Randy Cohen, New York Times Magazine, 7 Oct. 2001
Although possession of virus software and source code is not illegal, many of the existing state and federal computer intrusion and unauthorized access laws already make it illegal to introduce a virus into someone's system intentionally. Robert Morris's conviction … shows how the existing laws might be used to punish those involved with disseminating viruses.
—Edward A. Cavazos et al., Cyberspace And The Law, 1994
The Internet allows us to disseminate information faster.
The findings were widely disseminated.
Katie Stockton, CNBC, 7 July 2025
Although the scale of this event was not precisely forecast, the storm was anticipated, and warnings about it were disseminated well before its impacts were felt by local residents.
—The Editors, National Review, 7 July 2025
Advocates across social media platforms are trying to disseminate as much information as possible in hopes of informing residents of their rights as migrants in the U.S. as well as trying to dispel any false information.
—Brittany Carloni, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Newsom has been aggressive in his efforts to combat misinformation disseminated by right wing media outlets, and the lawsuit clearly turned it up a notch.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for disseminate
Cite this Entry
“Disseminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disseminate. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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disseminate
verb
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