ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dissipate

v.
C1 Advanced US //ˈdɪsəˌpeɪt// UK //dˈɪsɪpˌeɪt// dis·si·pate Archaic Informal

v. to spread out and become less strong or disappear. You use this when something like smoke, heat, or a crowd moves away and becomes thin.

v. to spread out and become less intense or to disappear entirely. Often describes the physical movement of particles or the gradual reduction of a collective force.


SIMPLE

The smoke began to dissipate in the morning sun.

CONTEXTUAL

The crowd started to dissipate as the rain began to fall heavily and the event ended.

COMPLEX

As the heat from the engine dissipates into the surrounding air, the vehicle's performance stabilizes and the risk of overheating decreases significantly.

Synonyms
Origin

The verb is first attested in 1425, in Middle English, the adjective from 1606 to 1765; from Middle English dissipaten, from Latin dissipātus, perfect passive participle of dissipō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), also written dissupō (“to scatter, disperse, demolish, destroy, squander, dissipate”), from dis- (“apart”) + supō (“to throw”). Doublet of dissipe (“to dissipate”), now obsolete.

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