dispersed

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/dɪˈspɜːrst/

From the verb disperse: (⇒ conjugate)
dispersed is: ⓘClick the infinitive to see all available inflections
v past
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
dis•perse /dɪˈspɜrs/USA pronunciation   v., -persed, -pers•ing. 
  1. to (cause to) separate and move in different directions;
    (cause to) become scattered: [no object]The crowd dispersed when the police arrived.[~ + object]The riot police dispersed the crowd.
  2. to spread widely;
    disseminate:[~ + object]The seeds were dispersed on the plowed land.
  3. to (cause to) vanish: [no object]When the sun came out, the fog dispersed.[~ + object]The wind dispersed the fog.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
dis•perse  (di spûrs′),USA pronunciation v., -persed, -pers•ing, 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. Chemistry[Physical Chem.]to cause (particles) to separate uniformly throughout a solid, liquid, or gas.
  5. Opticsto subject (light) to dispersion.

v.i. 
  1. to separate and move apart in different directions without order or regularity;
    become scattered:The crowd dispersed.
  2. to be dispelled;
    be scattered out of sight;
    vanish:The smoke dispersed into the sky.

adj. 
  1. Chemistry[Physical Chem.]noting the dispersed particles in a dispersion.
  • Latin dispersus (past participle of dispergere), equivalent. to di- di-2 + -sper(g)- scatter (stem of -spergere, combining form of spargere to scatter, strew) + -sus past participle suffix
  • Middle French disperser)
  • Middle English dispersen, disparsen (1350–1400
dis•pers′ed•ly  (di spûr′sid lē),USA pronunciation adv.  dis•pers′er, n. 
dis•pers′i•bil′i•ty, n. 
dis•pers′i•ble, adj. 
    1. See scatter. 2. sow, broadcast. 7. disappear, evanesce.
    1. combine, collect.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
disperse /dɪˈspɜːs/ vb
  1. to scatter; distribute over a wide area
  2. to dissipate or cause to dissipate
  3. to leave or cause to leave a gathering, often in a random manner
  4. to separate or be separated by dispersion
  5. (transitive) to diffuse or spread (news, information, etc)
  6. to separate (particles) throughout a solid, liquid, or gas, as in the formation of a suspension or colloid
 adj
  1. of or consisting of the particles in a colloid or suspension: disperse phase
Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin dispērsus scattered, from dispergere to scatter widely, from di-2 + spargere to strewdisˈperser n USAGE: See disburse
'dispersed' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
aggregation - base - break - broadcast - dispersal - dispersion - emulsion - gel - magma - self-sown - solution - spectrum - teargas - wing - acanthus family - aerosol - Amici prism - Armada - breakup - center-pivot irrigation - colloid - Diaspora - diffuse - dispersant - disperse - disperse dye - dissipate - dissolution - foamed metal - fog - haze - Ket - lyocratic - lyophilic - lyophobic - Mameluke - Nahuatlan - patulous - pseudosolution - rubber cement - toner - undispersed - well-dispersed - scatter - scattered - separate - shear zone - suspension

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