disperse
Verb (Transitive):
- To cause to spread widely or scatter in different directions: To distribute or spread things or people over a wide area, causing them to separate from a central point.
- To cause to vanish or dissipate: To make something, like a crowd, fog, or particles, break up and disappear or become less concentrated.
- To separate light into its constituent spectral colors: In physics, to cause light to spread out into its component wavelengths.
Verb (Intransitive):
- To go or move in different directions; to scatter: To separate and move apart from a central gathering point.
Verb (Transitive):
- Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters. (The police caused the crowd to scatter.)
- The wind quickly dispersed the smoke from the fire. (The wind caused the smoke to dissipate.)
- A prism disperses white light into a rainbow of colors. (A prism separates light into its spectrum.)
Verb (Intransitive):
- After the concert, the crowd slowly dispersed. (The crowd moved away in different directions.)
- The clouds dispersed, revealing a blue sky. (The clouds broke up and moved apart.)
"to disperse seeds": To scatter seeds over an area.
- The plant disperses its seeds via the wind.
"to disperse funds": To distribute or allocate money to various recipients or projects.
- The foundation will disperse the grant money to several charities.
In scientific contexts (Chemistry/Physics): Refers to the distribution of particles within a medium or the separation of waves.
- The colloid is formed by finely dispersed particles in a liquid.
Dispersal (noun): The act or process of dispersing or the state of being dispersed.
- The seed dispersal mechanism is crucial for the plant's survival.
Dispersion (noun): The state of being dispersed; in physics, the separation of light into colors or of a wave into its components.
- The study focused on the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere.
Dispersive (adjective): Tending to disperse or characterized by dispersion.
- The material has strong dispersive properties.
- Scatter: To throw or spread things loosely over an area.
- Dissipate: To cause to spread thin or vanish; to disperse.
- Disseminate: To spread information, knowledge, etc., widely.
- Break up: To cause to separate into parts; to disperse.
(Note: "Disperse" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. Its meaning is typically conveyed alone or with prepositions like "into," "throughout," or "over.") - Disperse into: To scatter and move into a particular area. - The demonstrators dispersed into the side streets.
- Disperse throughout: To spread widely within an area.
- The aroma of baking bread dispersed throughout the house.
(Note: There are no common idioms centered solely on the word "disperse." Its use is typically literal or technical.) - To disperse to the four winds: A literary expression meaning to scatter in all directions. - After the company closed, its employees dispersed to the four winds.
- cause to become widely known
- spread information
- circulate a rumor
- broadcast the news
- separate (light) into spectral rays
- the prosm disperses light
- move away from each other;
- The crowds dispersed
- The children scattered in all directions when the teacher approached
- cause to separate
- break up kidney stones
- disperse particles
- to cause to separate and go in different directions
- She waved her hand and scattered the crowds
- distribute loosely
- He scattered gun powder under the wagon