disperse meaning

disperse means 'to scatter or spread over a wide area'.

disperse :

to scatter, to spread

Verb

▪ The crowd dispersed after the concert.

▪ The crowd scattered after the concert.

▪ The police dispersed the protesters.

▪ The police scattered the protesters.

paraphrasing

▪ scatter – to disperse

▪ spread – to disperse

▪ scatter – to disperse

▪ spread – to disperse

disperse

Pronunciation

disperse [dɪˈspɜrs]

The stress is on 'perse' and sounds like 'di-spurse'.

Common phrases and grammar about disperse

disperse - Common meaning

Verb
to scatter, to spread

Part of Speech Changes for "disperse"

▪ dispersal (noun) – the act of dispersing

▪ dispersion (noun) – the process of dispersing

Common Expressions with "disperse"

▪ disperse the crowd – to scatter the people in a group

▪ disperse the fog – to clear the fog by scattering it

▪ disperse the seeds – to spread seeds widely

▪ disperse into – to scatter into different directions

Important examples of disperse in TOEIC

Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC vocabulary questions, disperse is usually used to mean 'to scatter or spread'.

▪The fans dispersed after the concert ended.
▪The fans scattered after the concert ended.

Example of a confusing word: dispense (to distribute)

▪The fans dispensed after the concert ended.
▪The fans were distributed after the concert ended.
"Disperse" means "to scatter" or "spread out," and is used correctly in the sentence "The fans dispersed after the concert ended," indicating that the fans moved away in different directions. "Dispense," however, means "to distribute" and is a transitive verb requiring an object, like "dispense medication." The sentence "The fans dispensed" is grammatically incorrect because it suggests the fans are distributing something, which is not the intended meaning. Therefore, "disperse" is the correct choice.

Grammar examples from the TOEIC test

Disperse is typically used as a transitive verb, requiring an object, and may appear in questions about actions or movements.

▪The manager asked the staff to disperse the flyers.
▪The manager asked the staff to scatter the flyers.

disperse

Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC

disperse the crowd

'scatter the people', used when talking about large groups dispersing.

▪The security team worked to disperse the crowd.
▪The security team worked to scatter the crowd.

break up

means 'to disperse a group', used in formal contexts.

▪The police decided to break up the gathering.
▪The police decided to scatter the gathering.

Differences between similar words and disperse

disperse

,

scatter

differences

Disperse means to spread or scatter over a wide area, while scatter can imply random or widespread distribution.

disperse
▪The crowd dispersed after the concert.
▪The crowd scattered after the concert.
scatter
▪scatter suggests a more random distribution than disperse.
▪scatter implies a less organized spreading.

disperse

,

spread

differences

Disperse means to scatter or spread over a wide area, while spread can refer to covering a surface or area more generally.

disperse
▪The police dispersed the crowd.
▪spread refers to covering or extending over a surface or area.
spread
▪spread means to cover an area, not necessarily to scatter.
▪spread refers to covering or extending over a surface or area.

Words with the same origin as disperse

The origin of disperse

disperse comes from the Latin 'dispergere', which means 'to scatter'.

Word structure

It has the prefix dis- (apart), root pers (scatter), and suffix -e (verb), so disperse means 'to scatter apart'.

Words with the same origin

The root of disperse is 'per' meaning 'through' or 'thoroughly'. Words with the same root include 'pervasive', 'perforate', 'persist', and 'percolate'.

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