Disperse
/dɪˈspɜrs/
verbB2
Definition
Disperse means to move apart in different directions or to cause something to spread out widely. It is often used when talking about groups of people leaving a place or small particles spreading in the air or water. The word shows that things are no longer close together but are scattered.
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See It in Action
To cause people or things to move apart and go in different directions
- •The police asked the crowd to disperse after the event ended.
- •When the rain started, the children dispersed from the playground.
- •Protesters dispersed peacefully after the announcement.
To spread small particles or substances over a large area
- •The wind dispersed the seeds across the field.
- •The smoke dispersed slowly into the air.
- •The sunlight dispersed through the clouds.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "disperse" like "spread" (A2 word), but more about moving away from one central point until things are far apart
- ✓Picture a crowd at a park that suddenly leaves and walks in many different directions, no longer standing close
- ✓It's the feeling when you blow on a handful of leaves and they fly away in many directions
- ✓Sounds like "this-PURSE" → imagine opening a purse and coins fly out and scatter everywhere
- ✓Think of a story where a magician waves a wand and a group of animals suddenly runs away in all directions
- ✓NOT like "gather" (come together), "disperse" means to move apart or separate
- ✓NOT like "scatter" (which can be quick and random), "disperse" often has a sense of purposeful or natural spreading over time or space
- ✓NOT like "spread" (which can be flat or wide), "disperse" emphasizes movement away from a center point
Try Other Words
- •Scatter: to throw or drop things in different directions (Use when the movement is quick and random)
- •Distribute: to give or spread something over an area or to people (Use when the spreading is organized or planned)
- •Dissipate: to slowly disappear or break apart (Use when something fades away, like smoke or fog)
Unboxing
- •Prefix "dis-" means "apart" or "away"
- •Root "perse" comes from Latin "pergere," meaning "to go forward" or "to proceed"
- •The word originally meant to "go in different directions" or "scatter"
- •First used in English in the late 1500s to describe things moving apart or spreading out
- •Today, it is used for both physical things (like people, particles) and abstract ideas (like light or energy spreading)
Reflect & Connect
•In what situations would you want a crowd to disperse, and why might that be important?
•How can understanding the word "disperse" help you describe natural events like wind or water movements?
Fill in the blanks
1.When the meeting ended, the people began to disperse ___ the room in different directions.
2.The wind caused the clouds to disperse ___ the sky, making it clear again.
3.Unlike "gather," to disperse means to ___ from a group or place.
4.The teacher told the students to disperse quietly so they would not ___ others.
5.Seeds disperse naturally by wind or animals to help plants ___ new places.
6.Smoke will disperse ___ if there is enough air movement around it.
7.When a crowd disperses, it often means the event has ___ or finished.