dissipating 1 of 3

adjective

as in wasting

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dissipating

2 of 3

noun

as in squandering

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dissipating

3 of 3

verb

present participle of dissipate
1
as in dispersing
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart dissipated the enemy forces with unremitting artillery fire

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2
as in spending
to use up carelessly dissipated the family fortune in reckless business ventures

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3
as in dissolving
to go off in different directions and cease to exist as a body or unified whole the fog should dissipate once the sun comes out in full force

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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 dissipating
Noun
Between these times, every stage moves from fullness and being a light to finding your light dissipating and toward the crescent. — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026 Hubble’s more recent imagery shows the dissipating remains of the smash encounter. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 18 Dec. 2025
Verb
The storm then roared into Alabama with tropical-force winds before dissipating farther north. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 Warm yet uplifting with a strong hit of black tea, Still Bloom's cardomom, sesame, and orange top notes hit like a shot of caffeine before dissipating into a mellow, comforting underbelly of musk, rose and cedarwood, to name a few. — ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026 After dissipating, some of the storm’s remnant moisture then traveled into parts of New Mexico and West Texas, bringing heavy rainfall to the region. — Newsroom Meteorologist, San Antonio Express-News, 30 Sep. 2026 Rinsing also cools down the seed, dissipating heat that builds up from the sprouting seeds. — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2026 Dull spells and lulls will crop up, building like waves, peaking, crashing, then dissipating. — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 11 Sep. 2026 As a result, each shell collapses sequentially, gradually absorbing and dissipating the kinetic energy. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026 Others are content simply to provoke a few smiles, before dissipating like smoke with the very next breeze. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026 The Cage felt like a useful spot to work out any resentments lingering in your psyche, all the old grievances dissipating with the clang of aluminum on cowhide. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissipating
  1. wasteful
  2. squandering
  3. dispersing
  4. spending
  5. dissolving
  6. profligate
  7. losing
  8. disappearing
Adjective
  • Supporters say the measure aims to cut wasteful government spending by requiring audits for new state special taxes.
    — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Congressional Republicans got rid of the EV tax credit last year after long arguing that markets, not the government, should influence what Americans drive, and dubbed the tax credit wasteful spending.
    — Willa Rubin, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of wasteful
Noun
  • An everyman figure squeezing every bit of talent from his frame, a boy who returned to working as a fisherman after the first squandering of his football dream, from a family that could not always afford to buy him studded boots.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 19 June 2026
  • Watching students use that platform to walk out on the CEO of one of the world’s most consequential companies clearly struck him as a squandering of rare privilege.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 June 2026
Definition of squandering
Verb
  • Other finds suggested that rather than dispersing, at least some of the town’s citizenry moved to Lauriacum along with the military.
    — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Last year, Vought mandated that the NIH fund grants in their entirety up front, rather than dispersing funds on a yearly basis.
    — STAT, STAT, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of dispersing
Verb
  • Originally from Mexico, Casillas immigrated to the United States at age 20 and has now been here for 50 years, spending decades building relationships within the community.
    — Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Later, after Nicole and her mother moved to other parts of the city, Nicole began spending time in Kensington, and Diane eventually moved there to be near her, Halloran-Koren said.
    — Danny Freeman, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of spending
Verb
  • Researchers are now chasing even easier formats, including oral dissolving films, sometimes called thin films or sublingual films, that dissolve in the mouth and release medication without any injection.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Oral semaglutide already exists as a needle-free GLP-1 option, and several companies are developing dissolving oral films and other formats to deliver peptide drugs without a shot.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of dissolving
Adjective
  • Bournemouth were profligate, despite scoring through Marcus Tavernier and forcing a Malick Thiaw own goal, with multiple first-half chances wasted.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • This shift occasioned the profligate production that would mark her oeuvre, with Kusama going on to make hundreds of paintings in which forests of lines and dots cradled variously floral and phallic figures.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of profligate
Verb
  • In one instance, McGregor pressured the City Council into revoking support for the controversial Interstate 77 South toll lanes project at the threat of losing the caucus’ endorsement, according to multiple council members.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Flávio is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year and three-month sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup d’état after losing the 2022 presidential election.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of losing
Verb
  • Desperately seeking Europe’s ‘own resources’ Still, the negotiations are gathering pace just as ambitions for the EU in an uncertain world are on the rise but room for fiscal maneuver in many countries is disappearing.
    — Lorne Cook, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Short-term, month-to-month rentals (the kind that often show up on a rent roll in a town that runs on rotating crews) were disappearing.
    — Ken Lundin, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of disappearing

Browse Nearby Words

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dissipating
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Cite this Entry

“Dissipating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissipating. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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