Definition
To disperse is to break apart and spread in different directions. A crowd disperses when a concert ends; wind disperses seeds and smoke; police may disperse protesters. The word works both ways — things can disperse on their own or be dispersed by some force — and it always implies movement from concentration to diffusion: what was gathered in one place ends up distributed across many.
Examples
- The crowd dispersed quietly once the fireworks ended.
- Many plants rely on the wind to disperse their seeds across long distances.
- Officers used loudspeakers to order the demonstrators to disperse.
Synonyms
scatter · spread · dissipate · distribute · break up
In TOEFL & IELTS
A staple of TOEFL biology and chemistry lectures — seed dispersal, the dispersal of populations, light dispersing through a prism. IELTS reading passages use it for migration and urban growth. The noun form 'dispersal' is just as common in academic texts, so learn the pair together and notice whether the context is literal (particles) or social (crowds).