dissipate 1 of 2

dissipate

2 of 2

noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb dissipate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of dissipate are dispel, disperse, and scatter. While all these words mean "to cause to separate or break up," dissipate stresses complete disintegration or dissolution and final disappearance.

the fog was dissipated by the morning sun

When could dispel be used to replace dissipate?

In some situations, the words dispel and dissipate are roughly equivalent. However, dispel stresses a driving away or getting rid of as if by scattering.

an authoritative statement that dispelled all doubt

When might disperse be a better fit than dissipate?

The synonyms disperse and dissipate are sometimes interchangeable, but disperse implies a wider separation and a complete breaking up of a mass or group.

police dispersed the crowd

When can scatter be used instead of dissipate?

While the synonyms scatter and dissipate are close in meaning, 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 dissipate
Noun
Spelling and her five kids — Liam, 18, Stella, 17, Hattie, Finn, 13, and Beau, 8 — moved out but the feelings from that night did not dissipate. Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 10 Sep. 2025 The most recent tropical storm, Fernand, dissipated on August 28, nearly two weeks ago. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 10 Sep. 2025 The new design should also enable it to better dissipate heat resulting from gains in performance. Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025 Much resistance to multifamily housing in single-family neighborhoods would dissipate if the state would require landlords to maintain their property, said Fayetteville resident Angela Belford of the Belford Group marketing firm. Arkansas Online, 4 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dissipate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissipate
Verb
  • Kirk is thrown backwards by the shot, which appeared to hit his neck, before the crowd disperses in panic.
    Richard Hall, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Video taken at the event shows that, just seconds later, the sound of a gunshot was heard as Kirk appeared to be struck in the head or neck while the crowd around him dispersed in a panic.
    Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Ford dropped it from the Explorer’s retail lineup, but continues to offer it in police vehicles, which benefit from its ability to power AC and other accessories without running the engine when parked, as patrol vehicles often spend lots of time doing.
    Mark Phelan, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • California’s legal fight to get those funds back–which hadn’t been spent–will take months if not years to resolve.
    Alan Ohnsman, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Noun
  • Show me exactly how to reorganize my day to focus on growth drivers first, which of my tasks are secretly time-wasters dressed as important work, and how to say no to everything else.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • For example, default settings for focus time added blocking of sites in the categories Shopping, Tabloids, and Time wasters.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 13 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Many journalists don’t want to lose access and are subject to coercion and intimidation that can influence their reporting.
    Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • One side will win, and one side will lose.
    Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The band’s foundation was built on the joint songwriting of Davies and Hodgson, who sang lead on most of Supertramp’s hits, but their partnership was beginning to dissolve by the early 1980s.
    David Chiu, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Some samples were kept sealed to enable study of ancient gases dissolved in the water.
    Rodrique Ngowi, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Their spending habits were that of a spendthrift, and there was only one parent really making any income.
    R29 Team, Refinery29, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Republicans should make liberals justify their own spendthrift ways, rather than playing defense.
    Erick Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 July 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Dissipate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissipate. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

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