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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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 With time dissipating memories of Lahti’s final days, there are few living people left to put into context the rumors of the bar fight, and even a less likely chance that the assailant is still alive. — Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026 Parton was the standard-bearer of a dissipating breed of superstar. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026 If a black hole had a secret identity as an imperfect, energy-dissipating, viscous fluid, then an effective field theory for imperfect, energy-dissipating, viscous fluids should exist, too. — Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026 Fears about the decline of the big-screen experience amid the rise of at-home streaming seem to have begun dissipating. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissipating
  1. wasteful
  2. squandering
  3. dispersing
  4. spending
  5. dissolving
  6. profligate
  7. losing
  8. disappearing
Adjective
  • The new rules aim to minimize the use of wasteful packaging as the economy transitions to become more circular.
    — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 2026
  • While many cyclists like to alternate between sipping water and energy gel, doing so can be an awkward, messy and wasteful process.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 31 Aug. 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
  • The Retired Police Canine Foundation was selected as the recipient of these funds and is in charge of dispersing them to handlers across the state.
    — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Open clusters are young clusters of stars that were born together and are now gradually dispersing, and Auriga’s open clusters are some of the best and brightest of their kind in the night sky.
    — Gemma Lavender, Space.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of dispersing
Verb
  • Robert Saleh arrives in Tennessee after spending 2025 as defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, returning to a head-coaching role after nearly four seasons leading the New York Jets.
    — Jenny Catlin, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Meeting Kimberly Schlapman at Samford University, singing together in choir, and spending college summers performing in North Carolina.
    — Sid Evans, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of spending
Verb
  • The bestselling cream-like balm melts into a clear, oil-like cleanser when warmed between dry palms, dissolving makeup, sunscreen, and grime before emulsifying with water and rinsing clean.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Vinegar works differently by breaking down residue and dissolving mineral deposits to naturally restore softness to fabrics.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 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
  • But at this point, many SEC administrators would rather find out by getting a win or by losing and then moving forward with that knowledge.
    — Seth Emerson, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The tropical cyclone reached Category 5, defined by sustained winds of 157 mph or greater, overnight Friday before losing some of its steam and settling into Category 4’s limits of sustained winds of 130 to 156 mph by Saturday.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of losing
Verb
  • But there’s a difference between empowering people to do their jobs and disappearing from leadership.
    — Laura Muirhead, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Car wrecks and other mishaps lead to people disappearing, only to be later found submerged underwater.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of disappearing

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dissipating
dissipation
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Cite this Entry

“Dissipating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissipating. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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