# dissipate

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈdɪsɪpeɪt/ · frequency rank #30,768

## Definitions
1. To drive away, disperse.
2. To use up or waste; squander.
3. To vanish by dispersion.
4. To cause energy to be lost through its conversion to heat.
5. To be dissolute in conduct.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **dissipated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dissipate-vs-dissipated)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ddissipate`, `disipate`, `disispate`, `dissiapte`, `dissipaet`, `dissipatte`, `dissippate`, `dissiptae`, `disspiate`, `dsisipate`, `idssipate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dissipate