disperse
verb
dis·perse
| \ di-ˈspərs
\
\
dispersed;
dispersing
Definition of disperse
1a
: to cause to break up (see break up sense 1a)
police dispersed the crowd
b
: to cause to become spread widely
disperse the troops
c
: to cause to evaporate or vanish
sunlight dispersing the mist
2
: to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: such as
c
chemistry
: to distribute (something, such as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a medium
1
: to break up in random fashion
the crowd dispersed on request
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from disperse
dispersedly
\ di-ˈspər-səd-lē
, -ˈspərst-lē \
adverb
, -ˈspərst-lē \
adverb
disperser
noun
dispersible
\ di-ˈspər-sə-bəl
\
adjective
\
adjective
Synonyms for disperse
Synonyms
disassemble, dissipate, dissolve, scatter
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of disperse in a Sentence
Police ordered the crowd to disperse.
the crowd dispersed once the show ended
Recent Examples on the Web
Following a standoff that lasted several hours on the street, police attempted to clear crowds off the roads by sending in riot police, eventually pursuing protesters who hadn’t dispersed from the scene into the shopping mall, New Town Plaza. — Isabella Steger, Quartz, "Photos: Hong Kong police fight protesters in a luxury shopping mall," 14 July 2019 One of Tatcha’s newest releases is Satin Skin Mist, a spray that disperses Okinawan clay and silk powder through water enriched with Japanese wild rose to leave a subtle matte finish on the skin. — Khanh T.l. Tran, latimes.com, "She gave up everything to start beauty brand Tatcha. What happens after it’s sold?," 8 July 2019 Most have been unable to move farther north to other European countries, and the E.U. has failed to work out a deal that would disperse migrants more evenly across member nations. — Chico Harlan, Washington Post, "A political deal in Italy could lead to Western Europe’s first fully populist government," 10 May 2018 The highway crash attenuator, a safety barrier that is supposed to absorb much of the force of a high-speed crash, that Huang's SUV smacked into had been crushed in a previous wreck and could not disperse the force of the Tesla's collision. — Cleve R. Wootson Jr., chicagotribune.com, "Tesla asserts Autopilot 'unequivocally makes the world safer' - days after fiery, fatal crash," 2 Apr. 2018 Instead, Deng arranged for Jiang Zemin, the Shanghai party chief, who had managed to disperse student demonstrators with little violence, to take the job as general secretary. — Chris Buckley, BostonGlobe.com, "Li Peng, Chinese leader derided for role in Tiananmen crackdown, dies at 90," 23 July 2019 The police moved in after a couple of hours using smoke bombs and pepper spray to disperse the crowd. — CBS News, "Puerto Rico protesters trap legislators as pressure on governor to resign mounts," 22 July 2019 Police tried to disperse the marchers with pepper spray in front of the Fortaleza governor’s residence, which was protected by barricades. — Julia Thompson, USA TODAY, "Royal Caribbean cancels Puerto Rico cruise stop amid protests," 16 July 2019 In the course of generations, heirs tend to disperse and lose any connection to the land. — Lizzie Presser, ProPublica, "The Reels Brothers Spent Eight Years in Jail for Refusing to Leave It.," 15 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disperse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for disperse
disperse
verb
English Language Learners Definition of disperse
: to go or move in different directions : to spread apart
See the full definition for disperse in the English Language Learners Dictionary
disperse
verb
dis·perse
| \ di-ˈspərs
\
\
dispersed;
dispersing
Kids Definition of disperse
: to break up and scatter
The clouds dispersed.
disperse
verb
dis·perse
| \ dis-ˈpərs
\
\
dispersed;
dispersing