disperse

1
as in to dissipate
to go off in different directions and cease to exist as a body or unified whole the crowd dispersed once the show ended

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to scatter
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart the family of the missing woman dispersed searchers to all corners of the national park

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in to disband
to cease to exist or cause to cease to exist as a group or organization the campaign staff dispersed almost immediately after the election

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb disperse differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of disperse are dispel, dissipate, and scatter. While all these words mean "to cause to separate or break up," disperse implies a wider separation and a complete breaking up of a mass or group.

police dispersed the crowd

When can dispel be used instead of disperse?

Although the words dispel and disperse have much in common, dispel stresses a driving away or getting rid of as if by scattering.

an authoritative statement that dispelled all doubt

When could dissipate be used to replace disperse?

The meanings of dissipate and disperse largely overlap; however, dissipate stresses complete disintegration or dissolution and final disappearance.

the fog was dissipated by the morning sun

When would scatter be a good substitute for disperse?

The words scatter and disperse can be used in similar contexts, but 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 disperse The passenger pigeon played a crucial role in the ecosystem by helping to disperse seeds and maintain the balance of forested environments across the continent. Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025 Santiago Espinal saves his stuff for his dad, who disperses it among coworkers’ families. Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025 Local workforce development boards serving Tarrant and North Central Texas — which operate under the Texas Workforce Commission — would disperse these grants. Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2025 The majority are single-ended, created to buff, dust, and disperse. Morgan Fargo, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disperse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disperse
Verb
  • Global conflicts over scarce resources will dissipate, giving way to a new era of peace and abundance.
    Billy Perrigo, Time, 15 Apr. 2025
  • The story doesn’t resolve so much as dissipate, in a series of almost comically perfunctory twists, reversals, and whispers of geopolitical peril.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • This scenic bar is located 18 stories up and was inspired by Picasso’s blue period, with vintage and contemporary furniture accents scattered throughout.
    Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Tuesday has scattered showers that could be focused south of the Orlando metro and Cape Canaveral.
    Garfield Hylton, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Van Halen's members have always had strenuous relationships with one another — and that hasn't changed even after the band officially disbanded following Eddie's death.
    Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The Democratic Party in Hong Kong, once the city’s largest opposition force, has disbanded following a crackdown by Beijing.
    Adam B. Kushner, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • If gate donations continue to decline, street festivals will continue to shrink or simply disappear.
    Pamela Maass, Chicago Tribune, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The blood trail continues for a few feet then disappears.
    Megan Kelly Brown, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Yet now, in Jerusalem, at the scene of his death, all his magnificent words have dissolved into the ...
    Joseph Loconte, National Review, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio temporarily halted most foreign aid grants in January, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which carried out much of the work to provide PEPFAR aid, has largely been dissolved.
    Orion Rummler, Them., 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • In the world of fashion, trends emerge and fade quickly, particularly among teenagers.
    Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 9 Apr. 2025
  • As the water diluted the stains, the fabric faded to a soft pink.
    Rebecca Ruth Gould, JSTOR Daily, 9 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Disperse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disperse. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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