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Added 9 October 2026

dissipate

/ˈdɪsɪpeɪt/ verb

Latin root: dissipātus First recorded: 1425 Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about dissipate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To cause to separate and go in different directions.
She waved her hand and scattered the crowds
Move away from each other.
The crowds dispersed
Spend frivolously and unwisely.
Fritter away one's inheritance

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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