I. ˈdisəˌpāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin dissipatus, past participle of dissipare, from dis- dis- (I) + -sipare (from supare to throw); akin to Old English geswōpe trash, Old Norse sōfl broom, svāf spear, Sanskrit svapū broom, Old Slavic sypati to shake; basic meaning: throwing, shaking
transitive verb
1.
a. : to break up and drive off (as a crowd) : scatter , disperse
dissipate the enemy forces by unremitting gunfire
b. : to cause to disappear especially by dispersion or diffusion : cause to spread out or spread thin to the point of vanishing : dispel , dissolve
the morning sun dissipated the night mists
if this absorbed heat is not dissipated, the surfaces of the combustion chambers would become red hot — Ernest Venk
a bright light dissipated the darkness of the night — W.H.G.Kingston
familiarity … dissipated the prejudice born of ignorance — Oscar Handlin
the common bond which drew them together is dissipated by the divergent interests of adult life — Carmen Rosa
2.
a. : to expend aimlessly or foolishly
dissipate our energies in trivial occupations
the union would be dissipating its bargaining power — using it wastefully instead of conserving it — S.H.Slichter
b. : to spend so as to have no further possession of
had a small patrimony … but that he dissipated before he left college — George Meredith
also : to lose by squandering
dissipated the family fortune in only a few years of wild living
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to separate into parts and scatter or disappear : disperse , vanish
mist will usually dissipate in the sun's rays
the crowd lost interest and dissipated
b. : to spread out so that an original identity is lost
the skirts flowed down to dissipate … where they touched the floor — Elizabeth Bowen
the river dissipated in several smaller streams
2. : to be extravagant or dissolute in the pursuit of physical pleasure ; especially : to drink alcoholic beverages excessively
paying with a hangover for his extended dissipating of the night before
Synonyms: see scatter , waste
II. adjective
Etymology: Latin dissipatus
obsolete : thinly dispersed : scattered