v., -persed, -pers·ing, -pers·es. v.tr.
- To drive off or scatter in different directions: The police dispersed the crowd.
- To strew or distribute widely: The airplane dispersed the leaflets over the city.
- To cause to vanish or disappear. See synonyms at scatter.
- To disseminate (knowledge, for example).
- To separate (light) into spectral rays.
- To distribute (particles) evenly throughout a medium.
- To separate and move in different directions; scatter: The crowd dispersed once the concert ended.
- To break up and vanish; dissipate: The storm clouds had dispersed by noon.
[Middle English dispersen, from Old French disperser, from Latin dispergere, dispers-, to disperse : dis-, apart; see dis– + spargere, to scatter.]
dispersedly dis·pers'ed·ly (-spûr'sĭd-lē) adv.disperser dis·pers'er n.
dispersible dis·pers'i·ble adj.






