- dis|perse
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–v.t.1. to send or drive off in different directions; scatter: »
The police dispersed the rioters.
SYNONYM(S): See syn. under scatter. (Cf. ↑scatter)2. to distribute; circulate: »Children went through the crowd dispersing handbills.
SYNONYM(S): disseminate.3. to cause to disappear; dispel; dissipate: »The swelling on his arm was dispersed by cold compresses.
4. Optics. to divide (white light) into rays of different colors.5. Chemistry. to scatter (the particles of a colloid) throughout another substance or a mixture.–v.i.1. to spread in different directions; scatter: »The crowd dispersed when it began raining.
SYNONYM(S): See syn. under scatter. (Cf. ↑scatter)2. to disappear; be dispelled: »The chill night air dispersed with the dawn.
–adj.dispersed.╂[< Middle French disperser < Latin dispergere < dis- apart + spargere scatter]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.