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
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 The storm is expected to head east-northeast and slow its forward speed while dissipating on Thursday. — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2026 The ruckus around Cunningham does not appear to be dissipating, in any event. — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026 When these four things align, effort stops dissipating and starts compounding. — Jeff Winters, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 The system then turned southeastward and southward before dissipating just west of northern Portugal on October 15. — Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 July 2026 The storm was forecast to reach the upper Texas coast on Thursday before dissipating inland in Texas by Friday. — ABC News, 23 July 2026 The storm was forecast to reach the upper Texas coast today before dissipating inland by tomorrow. — Daniela Suarez, NBC news, 23 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissipating
  1. wasteful
  2. squandering
  3. dispersing
  4. spending
  5. dissolving
  6. profligate
  7. losing
  8. disappearing
Adjective
  • Our health care system is wasteful, costly and complicated and desperately needs reform.
    — U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Many come in numerous pill packets, which some users feel is wasteful.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 14 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 star will eventually die, destroying the lion and dispersing all the gas and dust into interstellar space.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The bank also called in the federal government, with FBI agents dispersing to Bellum’s Burbank high-rise and the bank’s offices.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of dispersing
Verb
  • Both teams then got along just fine after practice with several players from each team spending time together.
    — Jon Machota, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • That said, the Inn itself is so cocooning that many guests end up spending far more time on the property than originally planned.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of spending
Verb
  • At a meeting on June 25, 2026, ArianeGroup officially rejected the option of dissolving MaiaSpace, allowing the company to continue preparations for the inaugural flight of Maia.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • That boundary is what turns dissolving borders into better decisions.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of dissolving
Adjective
  • Just as life in industrial urban centers in the nineteenth century caused hardship in rural villages, the profligate lifestyles enjoyed by those of us in the Global North are underwritten by the immiseration of those in the Global South.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
  • Avoid the impulse to label someone as cheap or profligate after one or two dates, AARP advises.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 6 June 2026
Definition of profligate
Verb
  • The Bot gets 1 for guessing in three and loses it for losing to me.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Still, all the traumas that informed the album pale in comparison to losing Snider in November 2025.
    — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of losing
Verb
  • The slump has hit Los Angeles especially hard — with more than 50,000 jobs disappearing since 2022.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Cofounder Crissy Fissbane agrees that face‑to‑face connection is resurging but doesn’t believe virtual networking is disappearing.
    — Alison Coleman, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of disappearing

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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 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on dissipating

Nglish: Translation of dissipating for Spanish Speakers

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