disperse
/dɪˈspɜːs/
"disperse" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“disperse” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,578 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #19,578
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To scatter in different directions.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | disperse |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈspɜːs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #19,578 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “disperse” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for disperse is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈspɜːs/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,578 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for disperse, with forms such as "ddisperse", "dipserse", and "diseprse". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "diverse", "dispose", "dispersed", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French disperser, from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergō (“to scatter abroad, disperse”), from dis- (“apart”) + spargō (“to scatter”); see sparse. The correct English form is disperse, spelled D-I-S-P-E-R-S-E.
Definition
- 1To scatter in different directions.
- 2To break up and disappear; to dissipate.
- 3To disseminate.
- 4To separate rays of light, etc., according to wavelength; to refract.
- 5To distribute throughout.
Etymology
From Middle French disperser, from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergō (“to scatter abroad, disperse”), from dis- (“apart”) + spargō (“to scatter”); see sparse.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddisperse,dipserse,diseprse,disperes,disperrse,dispersse,dispesre,dispperse,disprese,dissperse,dsiperse,idsperse
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of disperse - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “disperse”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-P-E-R-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈspɜːs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “diverse” - see the side-by-side comparison. disperse vs diverse
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.