I. də̇ˈspərs, -pə̄s, -pəis verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English dysparsen, from Middle French disperser, from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergere to scatter, from dis- dis- (I) + -spergere (from spargere to strew, scatter) — more at spark
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause to break up and go in different ways : send or drive into different places : scatter
his command was dispersed by a bayonet charge — T.R.Hay
b. : to cause to become spread widely : distribute
the party left the bus and dispersed themselves to various hotels
dispersing barges and crews along the route as convenient — C.S.Forester
especially : to separate and distribute (as troops or planes) over a large area to avoid offering the enemy a concentrated target
c. : dissipate , dispel
the sun dispersing the vapors of the night
this explanation had at least dispersed the feeling of weirdness that had gripped the colony — O.E.Rölvaag
2. : to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: as
a. : to spread abroad from a center of supply or control : disseminate
disperse news throughout the state
80 percent of the discharge of this river at Baghdad is dispersed in these marshes — Wilfred Thesiger
b. : to cause to diverge
c. : to break up (light) into colors of the spectrum by refraction or diffraction
d. : to distribute (as finely divided particles) more or less evenly throughout a liquid, gaseous, or solid medium with the formation of a two-phase system
disperse a pigment in an oil by grinding
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to break up and move or scatter to different places or go in different directions
the crowd dispersed at the first shot
his senses … seemed to be dispersing hopelessly and uncontrollably all about him — Hanama Tasaki
b. : to become dispersed
the particles dispersed throughout the mixture
2. : to dispel itself : dissipate
the fog dispersed toward morning
Synonyms: see scatter
II. dəˈs-, (ˈ)di|s- adjective
Etymology: Latin dispersus
: widely distributed by dispersion : dispersed
vitamin B is so disperse in rice polishings that ten tons of raw material yields only an ounce of vitamin — A.C.Morrison