— dispersedly /di sperr"sid lee/ , adv. — disperser , n. — dispersibility , n. — dispersible , adj.
/di sperrs"/ , v. , dispersed, dispersing , adj.
v.t.
1. to drive or send off in various directions; scatter: to disperse a crowd.
2. to spread widely; disseminate: to disperse knowledge.
3. to dispel; cause to vanish: The wind dispersed the fog.
4. Physical Chem. to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.
5. Optics. to subject (light) to dispersion.
v.i.
6. to separate and move apart in different directions without order or regularity; become scattered: The crowd dispersed.
7. to be dispelled; be scattered out of sight; vanish: The smoke dispersed into the sky.
adj.
8. Physical Chem. noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.
[ 1350-1400; ME dispersen, disparsen ( disperser ) dispersus (ptp. of dispergere ), equiv. to di- DI- 2 + -sper ( g )- scatter (s. of -spergere, comb. form of spargere to scatter, strew) + -sus ptp. suffix ]
Syn. 1. See scatter. 2. sow, broadcast. 7. disappear, evanesce.
Ant. 1. combine, collect.