dispersing

verb

present participle of disperse
1
as in dissipating
to go off in different directions and cease to exist as a body or unified whole the crowd dispersed once the show ended

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2
as in scattering
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart the family of the missing woman dispersed searchers to all corners of the national park

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dissolving
to cease to exist or cause to cease to exist as a group or organization the campaign staff dispersed almost immediately after the election

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dispersing In contrast, peregrine falcons that breed in Alaska migrate almost directly south, dispersing across the Americas to wintering grounds that extend as far as southern South America. — Amy L. Scarpignato, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 Israeli troops later arrived in Abu Falah and drove up to the village after dispersing the crowd in the olive groves. — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Other finds suggested that rather than dispersing, at least some of the town’s citizenry moved to Lauriacum along with the military. — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026 Last year, Vought mandated that the NIH fund grants in their entirety up front, rather than dispersing funds on a yearly basis. — STAT, 23 Sep. 2026 By dispersing weapons across submarines, aircraft, land forces, unmanned systems, and allied bases, the United States could create multiple threats that China would have to account for simultaneously. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2026 The Retired Police Canine Foundation was selected as the recipient of these funds and is in charge of dispersing them to handlers across the state. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026 Open clusters are young clusters of stars that were born together and are now gradually dispersing, and Auriga’s open clusters are some of the best and brightest of their kind in the night sky. — Gemma Lavender, Space.com, 19 Aug. 2026 The brave new world of synthetic biology, in other words, is radically democratizing and dispersing access to the tools used to make bioweapons. — Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispersing
  1. dissipating
  2. scattering
  3. dissolving
  4. disappearing
  5. disbanding
  6. fading
Verb
  • During the filming of an explosion scene featuring him alongside his co-star Leonard Nimoy, the stage doors were accidentally left closed, preventing the blast from dissipating properly.
    — Ashley Hume , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The storm then roared into Alabama with tropical-force winds before dissipating farther north.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of dissipating
Verb
  • Molecules pooling close to regions that repel water can be forced into distinctive arrangements that are energetically costly to maintain, resembling pieces of a jigsaw puzzle pushed into patterns poised on the verge of scattering.
    — Mike McRae October 13, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Hurricane Isaias made landfall in Destin as a Category 2 storm on Friday night, bringing wind gusts of more than 110 mph to the Florida Panhandle, downing trees, scattering debris and leaving at least two people dead.
    — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of scattering
Verb
  • The home’s dissolving interior boundary suits an artist who has spent her career questioning where humans fit within the vastness of space and time.
    — Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Researchers are now chasing even easier formats, including oral dissolving films, sometimes called thin films or sublingual films, that dissolve in the mouth and release medication without any injection.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of dissolving
Verb
  • Desperately seeking Europe’s ‘own resources’ Still, the negotiations are gathering pace just as ambitions for the EU in an uncertain world are on the rise but room for fiscal maneuver in many countries is disappearing.
    — Lorne Cook, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Short-term, month-to-month rentals (the kind that often show up on a rent roll in a town that runs on rotating crews) were disappearing.
    — Ken Lundin, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of disappearing
Verb
  • After Cobain’s death, Novoselic formed the band Sweet 75 in 1994, which released one album before disbanding in 2000, followed by Eyes Adrift, which also released one album before disbanding in early 2003.
    — Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys — before disbanding for a half-decade in the mid-2010s.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of disbanding
Verb
  • The Saints are fading after a strong start, and Tyler Shough is struggling and dealing with a left hand injury.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In the rapidly fading light, a splendid buck muley took half a step forward and looked straight toward me.
    — Erwin A. Bauer, Outdoor Life, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of fading

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dispersing
dispersion
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Cite this Entry

“Dispersing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispersing. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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