dissipate
verb
dis·si·pate ˈdi-sə-ˌpāt 
dissipated; dissipating
transitive verb
1
a
: to break up and drive off
dissipate a crowd
b
: to cause to spread thin or scatter and gradually vanish
one's sympathy is eventually dissipated
Andrew Feinberg
Andrew Feinberg c
physics : to lose (heat, electricity, etc.) irrecoverably
2
: to spend or use up wastefully or foolishly
dissipated the family fortune in reckless business ventures
intransitive verb
1
: to break up and scatter or vanish
The clouds dissipated and the sun came out.
The team's early momentum has dissipated.
2
: to be extravagant or dissolute in the pursuit of pleasure
especially : to drink to excess
his extended dissipating of the night before
dissipater noun
Synonyms
- clear out
- disband
- dispel
- disperse
- scatter
- squander
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The morning sun dissipated the fog. The fog should dissipate soon.
Recent Examples on the Web While marathon runners help dissipate heat by wearing shorts and singlets, in cricket the wearing of pads, gloves and a helmet restricts the ability to evaporate sweat in hot, humid conditions often lacking shade. New York Times, 4 Aug. 2022 Larger appendages like bills, ears, tails and even wings can help animals dissipate more heat into the surrounding air. Lina Zeldovich, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Sep. 2021 The chill is coming for all European countries, and the idea that countries are all in this together may dissipate when the going gets tough. WIRED, 28 Aug. 2022 Fortunately, the warming effect of the water vapor is expected to be small and temporary, and will dissipate as the extra vapor diminishes. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 3 Aug. 2022 The most important change within the body is plasma volume expansion, giving the body more blood to help dissipate heat and supply exercising muscles. Susan Yeargin, The Conversation, 1 Aug. 2022 The most important change within the body is plasma volume expansion, giving the body more blood to help dissipate heat and supply exercising muscles. Susan Yeargin, Chron, 1 Aug. 2022 The hurricane center said little change in strength is expected, and Colin could dissipate by Monday. Leigh Morgan, al, 2 July 2022 That would give him an extra day off to allow the soreness in his right hip to dissipate. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2022 See More
New York Times, 4 Aug. 2022 Larger appendages like bills, ears, tails and even wings can help animals dissipate more heat into the surrounding air. Lina Zeldovich, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Sep. 2021 The chill is coming for all European countries, and the idea that countries are all in this together may dissipate when the going gets tough. WIRED, 28 Aug. 2022 Fortunately, the warming effect of the water vapor is expected to be small and temporary, and will dissipate as the extra vapor diminishes. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 3 Aug. 2022 The most important change within the body is plasma volume expansion, giving the body more blood to help dissipate heat and supply exercising muscles. Susan Yeargin, The Conversation, 1 Aug. 2022 The most important change within the body is plasma volume expansion, giving the body more blood to help dissipate heat and supply exercising muscles. Susan Yeargin, Chron, 1 Aug. 2022 The hurricane center said little change in strength is expected, and Colin could dissipate by Monday. Leigh Morgan, al, 2 July 2022 That would give him an extra day off to allow the soreness in his right hip to dissipate. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin dissipatus, past participle of dissipare, dissupare, from dis- + supare to throw
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Kids Definition
dissipate
verb
dis·si·pate ˈdi-sə-ˌpāt
dissipated; dissipating
1
: to cause to break up and disappear: disperse
The wind dissipated the clouds.
2
: to scatter or waste foolishly : squander
He dissipated his saved allowance.
Legal Definition
dissipate
transitive verb
dis·si·pate ˈdi-sə-ˌpāt
dissipated; dissipating
: to use (marital assets) for one's own benefit and to the exclusion of one's spouse for a purpose unrelated to the marriage at a time when the marriage is undergoing an irretrievable breakdown
dissipate 1 of 2
verb
1
as in to disperse
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart dissipated the enemy forces with unremitting artillery fire Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- disperse
- dispel
- scatter
- disband
- squander
- clear out
- isolate
- diffuse
- segregate
- disseminate
- diverge
- separate
- part
- spread
- split (up)
- break up
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- concentrate
- collect
- gather
- assemble
- congregate
- cluster
- unify
- unite
- ingather
- agglutinate
- conglomerate
2
as in to spend
to use up carelessly dissipated the family fortune in reckless business ventures Synonyms & Similar Words
- spend
- lose
- waste
- squander
- blow
- misspend
- throw away
- consume
- deplete
- run through
- lavish
- fiddle away
- exhaust
- disburse
- play ducks and drakes with
- expend
- make ducks and drakes of
- indulge
- fritter (away)
- impoverish
- trifle (away)
- splurge
- overindulge
- overspend
- lay out
- shoot
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- conserve
- protect
- preserve
- economize
- save
- skimp
- lay up
- hoard
- scrimp
3
as in to disappear
to go off in different directions and cease to exist as a body or unified whole the fog should dissipate once the sun comes out in full force Synonyms & Similar Words
- disperse
- disappear
- dissolve
- fade
- scatter
- evaporate
- disassemble
- melt
- divide
- disband
- spill
- diverge
- separate
- fork
- flee
- clear
- evanesce
- break up
- branch (out)
- go (away)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- gather
- meet
- congregate
dissipate
2 of 2noun
as in waster
Synonyms & Similar Words
- waster
- prodigal
- spendthrift
- squanderer
- wastrel
- fritterer
- high roller
- spender
- profligate
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- economizer
- saver
- miser
- niggard
- conserver
- skinflint
- scrooge
- cheapskate
- piker
- tightwad
- penny-pincher
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of dissipate are dispel, disperse, and scatter. While all these words mean "to cause to separate or break up," dissipate stresses complete disintegration or dissolution and final disappearance.
the fog was dissipated by the morning sun
In some situations, the words dispel and dissipate are roughly equivalent. However, dispel stresses a driving away or getting rid of as if by scattering.
an authoritative statement that dispelled all doubt
The synonyms disperse and dissipate are sometimes interchangeable, but disperse implies a wider separation and a complete breaking up of a mass or group.
police dispersed the crowd
While the synonyms scatter and dissipate are close in meaning, scatter implies a force that drives parts or units irregularly in many directions.
the bowling ball scattered the pins
- percipient
- percipiently
- percipients
- perclose
- percnosome
- percoid
- Percoidea
- percoideae
- percoidean
- percoideans
- percoideas
- percoids
- percolate
- percolate (into)
- percolate into
- percolated
- percolated (into)
- percolated into
- percolates
- percolates (into)
- percolates into
- percolating
- percolating (into)
- percolating filter
- percolating into