dispersed

past tense of disperse
1
as in dissipated
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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2
3
as in disbanded
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dispersed The drone threat remains, but the surge capability has dispersed. Bill Edwards, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Since the fish dispersed, Bucky Dent and the other bears must also spread out. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026 Such artifacts were increasingly more dispersed in later burial stages. Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026 Amtrak announced last week that $600 million in Federal Railroad Administration grants are being dispersed to rail projects in Chicago. Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026 Those difficulties are especially acute across Chocó, one of Colombia’s poorest departments, where many small and dispersed communities are connected principally by rivers and waterways rather than roads. Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026 That means that the money being dispersed is moving more slowly, York said. Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2026 To overcome these problems, the researchers turned to quantum mechanical calculations, which predicted that platinum and chromium atoms would naturally pair up when dispersed inside silver. Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 2 Aug. 2026 Video footage early on Friday showed hundreds of migrants gathered on a hill overlooking Ceuta being dispersed with tear gas by Moroccan forces, while others continued to swim to the Spanish territory. Sergio Rodrigo Ruíz, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispersed
Verb
  • But the pushbacks and protests gradually dissipated and today shoppers pay up to $11 a day to park there.
    Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The energy dissipated in the second half, taken away by two goals and the lack of familiarity between the squad.
    Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • There have been scattered instances of athletes returning to their previous school for the extra season, including two LSU women’s soccer players who are part of the case.
    Seth Emerson, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The material was scattered throughout the residential area surrounding the school.
    Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • But August eventually passed, and by September our collective had disbanded for college.
    Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • After the 2020 security law, leading activists were arrested and civil society groups disbanded.
    KANIS LEUNG, Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • And the Ku Klux Klan, though diminished from its earlier power, had not disappeared.
    Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The suite is named The Endeavour, after the airplane of a former owner’s daughter, aviatrix Elsie Mackay, who attempted to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic a year after Charles Lindbergh and sadly disappeared somewhere along the way.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The Caroline Bezengi’s last registered owner of record is Rentoor Shipmanagement Ltd, a Marshall Islands company dissolved on February 24.
    Charles Edward Gehrke, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Wolf changes the ritual so that the Dragon’s Heritage is dissolved, along with Kuro’s body, and Wolf loses his immortality.
    Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Their content together, appearances, red carpet moments, casual clips of them out in Los Angeles, has kept fans invested in their story past the finale, extending the shelf life of a couple that could otherwise have faded once the season ended.
    Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The next major episode of persistent trade imbalances was the rare case in which the imbalances faded away without causing major disruption.
    MICHAEL PETTIS, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dispersed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispersed. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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