verb
dissipate
DIH-sih-payt
verb
1
To gradually scatter or disappear.
"The morning fog dissipated as the sun rose."
"Tension in the room slowly dissipated once he apologized."
2
To waste or squander resources, money, or energy.
"He dissipated his inheritance on gambling within a few years."
How to Use Dissipate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo slowly disappear or spread out, or to waste something like money or energy.
Common pairings
dissipate energy
fog dissipates
dissipate one's fortune
Word Forms
more dissipate comparative, dissipated past tense, dissipates singular, most dissipate superlative
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Etymology
From Latin dissipare, "to scatter, disperse," from dis- ("apart") + supare/supō ("to throw").