DISSIPATE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Dissipate

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/dˈɪsəpˌeɪt/ Listen

verb

dissipate v. t. (past & past part. dissipated; pres. part. dissipating)

To scatter completely; to disperse and cause to disappear; used esp. of the dispersion of things that can never again be collected or restored. "Dissipated those foggy mists of error." "I soon dissipated his fears." "The extreme tendency of civilization is to dissipate all intellectual energy."

To destroy by wasteful extravagance or lavish use; to squander. "The vast wealth... was in three years dissipated."

Synonyms: To disperse; scatter; dispel; spend; squander; waste; consume; lavish.

Dissipate v. i.

To separate into parts and disappear; to waste away; to scatter; to disperse; to vanish; as, a fog or cloud gradually dissipates before the rays or heat of the sun; the heat of a body dissipates.

To be extravagant, wasteful, or dissolute in the pursuit of pleasure; to engage in dissipation.

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Etymology of 'Dissipate'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Dissipate" Quotes from Famous Books

... good for you," he reiterated hoarsely, even as his powerful fists clenched themselves in a violent effort to keep up some semblance of self-control. The thought of Elsa still floated across his mental vision, of Elsa whose pure white hand seemed to dissipate that ugly red mist with all the hideous thoughts which it brought in its trail. "You ought to treat her well, man," he cried in the agony of his soul, "you've got ...

— A Bride of the Plains • Baroness Emmuska Orczy

... meandering stream, sat two gentlemen averaging forty years of age. The day was sultry, and, weary of casting their lines without effect, they had stuck their rods in the bank, and sought, in a well-filled basket of provisions and copious libations of bottled porter, to dissipate their disappointment. ...

— The Sketches of Seymour (Illustrated), Complete • Robert Seymour

... one enjoys an unexpected blessing, a last sunshine before winter's near approach, with thankful heart to God. Full of cheerful devotedness to her husband, to her children, her lovely countenance was radiant with joy and love; she was ever busy, with the sunshine of her smile, to dissipate the shadows from her husband's brow, and to replace the impassioned excitements, the honors and distinctions of his Parisian life, by the ...

— The Empress Josephine • Louise Muhlbach

... the small imps in blue who love to preempt their quarters in a human heart will scatter away like owls before the music of flutes. There are few of the minor difficulties and annoyances that will not dissipate at the charge of the nonsense brigade. If the clothes line breaks, if the cat tips over the milk and the dog elopes with the roast, if the children fall into the mud simultaneously with the advent of clean aprons, if the new girl quits in the ...

— A String of Amber Beads • Martha Everts Holden

... This tendency to dissipate energies by wandering into other fields is not confined to the worker; it is a most common tendency of business men. A manager of an industrial establishment has to continually combat his tendency to divert the energies of the organization ...

— Industrial Progress and Human Economics • James Hartness

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