Words / B2

di-SPURS/dɪˈspɜːs/

To disperse is to spread out, or to make a crowd break up: the crowd dispersed; disperse the gas. Scatter is close; dispel is for ideas. Police dispersed the crowd after the match. Chemistry: a dispersed sample. Do not use disperse for firing one person.

Meaning

To spread over a wide area, or to make a crowd move apart.

Examples

• “Police moved in to disperse the crowd after the final.”
• “Seeds disperse on the wind, which is the biology sense.”

Good to know

disperse a crowd; the crowd dispersed. Close: scatter. Mix-up: dispel (myths). Public-order news and science. Opposite: gather / assemble.

Near in meaning

scatter

New