disperse

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

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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

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb disperse differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of disperse are dispel, dissipate, and scatter. While all these words mean "to cause to separate or break up," disperse implies a wider separation and a complete breaking up of a mass or group.

police dispersed the crowd

When can dispel be used instead of disperse?

Although the words dispel and disperse have much in common, dispel stresses a driving away or getting rid of as if by scattering.

an authoritative statement that dispelled all doubt

When could dissipate be used to replace disperse?

The meanings of dissipate and disperse largely overlap; however, dissipate stresses complete disintegration or dissolution and final disappearance.

the fog was dissipated by the morning sun

When would scatter be a good substitute for disperse?

The words scatter and disperse can be used in similar contexts, but scatter implies a force that drives parts or units irregularly in many directions.

the bowling ball scattered the pins

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 disperse The inherent difficulty of finding submarines in the open ocean, bombers dispersed and airborne, and road-mobile missile launchers on the move ensures the survivability of a greater proportion of the force. Andrew S. Lim, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025 But this year, Veach says, is different from others in the way the draft’s talent is dispersed. Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025 Its more than $50 million budget was largely dispersed through grants to organizations to identify and combat disinformation from foreign adversaries. Laura Kelly, The Hill, 16 Apr. 2025 After the Merci Train touched down on American soil, the boxcars were dispersed to states throughout the nation. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disperse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disperse
Verb
  • Global conflicts over scarce resources will dissipate, giving way to a new era of peace and abundance.
    Billy Perrigo, Time, 15 Apr. 2025
  • The story doesn’t resolve so much as dissipate, in a series of almost comically perfunctory twists, reversals, and whispers of geopolitical peril.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Campgrounds and rental cabins are scattered along the shore, and in the summer, roadside stands sell fresh cherries, plums, and other fruit.
    Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Best Places to Stay Along with lodgings inside and outside its perimeter, Olympic National Park has 14 campgrounds scattered around the park.
    Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Decades after disbanding, the band still maintains a constant presence across a number of rankings, kept afloat by unwavering fan support and a discography that seems unbeatable.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Hong Kong: Members of the opposition Democratic Party voted to disband, one more casualty of Beijing’s suppression campaign.
    Justin Porter, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Much of the production that Boston typically counts on disappeared.
    Jay King, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Some bumblebee populations have been disappearing from the southern parts of their geographic range and have been found in cooler regions to the north and in more mountainous areas.
    Courtney McGinnis, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Yet now, in Jerusalem, at the scene of his death, all his magnificent words have dissolved into the ...
    Joseph Loconte, National Review, 20 Apr. 2025
  • In recent years, Dolan has noticed some of those stigmas dissolving.
    Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • First, there was a drip-drip-drip of crisis: as costs everywhere rose, city, state, and federal monies faded away once COVID-era bailout efforts came to an end.
    Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2025
  • The blotchy black pattern was very obvious in small snakes but faded and less visible in larger ones, the study said.
    Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Disperse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disperse. Accessed 3 May. 2025.

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