disperse
dih-SPURS
/dɪˈspɜːrs/
To break up and scatter over a wide area, causing concentration to weaken or vanish.
In environmental science, wind or turbulence disperses pollutants by scattering their particles into cleaner air.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'dispersus', past participle of 'dispergere', combining 'dis-' (in different directions) and 'spargere' (to scatter or strew). Middle English borrowed it via French to describe scattering clouds, crowds, or airborne particles.
Word relationships
- scatter: 'Scatter' implies random driving in different directions; 'disperse' implies thinning out until diminished.
- dissipate: 'Dissipate' emphasizes completely fading away or disappearing into nothingness.
- accumulate: Accumulate means to collect and gather together in one space.
- concentrate: Concentrate means gathering density into a localized area.
Commonly confused with
- disburse: Disburse means to pay out money from a fund; disperse means to scatter particles or people.
Word family
- dispersion (noun): The action or process of distributing or spreading wide.
- dispersal (noun): The process of spreading things over a wide area.
Collocations
- disperse pollutants
- quickly disperse
- wind helps disperse
- disperse into the atmosphere
Example sentences
- "Strong sea breezes help disperse urban atmospheric contaminants before they reach toxic concentrations." Coastal Meteorology
- "Firefighters waited for the high wind to disperse the thick black smoke coming from the warehouse." Emergency Management
Memory hook
DISPERSE = DIS- (apart) + PURSE (scattering contents out of a purse). Disperse = Scatter widely and thin out.
When not to use
Do not use when describing substances clumping together or concentrating in one spot.
Fun facts
- Smokestacks are built high into the sky specifically so wind can disperse emissions over huge distances before they touch ground level.
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