You can overdose on coffee if you drink about 30 cups in a brief period to get close to a lethal dosage of caffeine.
DISPERSE
circulate, circularize, circularise, distribute, disseminate, propagate, broadcast, spread, diffuse, disperse, pass around
(verb) cause to become widely known; “spread information”; “circulate a rumor”; “broadcast the news”
scatter, sprinkle, dot, dust, disperse
(verb) distribute loosely; “He scattered gun powder under the wagon”
disperse
(verb) separate (light) into spectral rays; “the prism disperses light”
disperse, dissipate, scatter, spread out
(verb) move away from each other; “The crowds dispersed”; “The children scattered in all directions when the teacher approached”
disperse, dissipate, dispel, break up, scatter
(verb) to cause to separate and go in different directions; “She waved her hand and scattered the crowds”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
disperse (third-person singular simple present disperses, present participle dispersing, simple past and past participle dispersed)
(transitive, intransitive) To scatter in different directions
(transitive, intransitive) To break up and disappear; to dissipate
(transitive, intransitive) To disseminate
(physics, transitive, intransitive) To separate rays of light etc. according to wavelength; to refract
(transitive, intransitive) To distribute throughout
Usage notes
• Do not confuse with the monetary word disburse, despite the two being near homophones and having a degree of semantic similarity (in which disbursed money may be dispersed among expenses). A mnemonic to help make the difference obvious (which uses a cognate of each word) is that dÄs-burs-ing is taking money out of the purse, whereas dÄ-spers-ing causes something to be sparsely scattered.
Synonyms
• (scatter in different directions): See also disperse
Adjective
disperse (comparative more disperse, superlative most disperse)
Scattered or spread out.
Anagrams
• Perseids, despiser, perseids, presides
Source: Wiktionary
Dis*perse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dispersed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dispersing.] Etym: [L. dispersus, p. p. of dispergere to strew, scatter. See Sparse.]
1. To scatter abroad; to drive to different parts; to distribute; to diffuse; to spread; as, the Jews are dispersed among all nations. The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. Prov. xv. 7. Two lions, in the still, dark night, A herd of beeves disperse. Cowper.
2. To scatter, so as to cause to vanish; to dissipate; as, to disperse vapors. Dispersed are the glories. Shak.
Syn.
– To scatter; dissipate; dispel; spread; diffuse; distribute; deal out; disseminate.
Dis*perse", v. i.
1. To separate; to go or move into different parts; to vanish; as, the company dispersed at ten o'clock; the clouds disperse.
2. To distribute wealth; to share one's abundance with others. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor. Ps. cxii. 9.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
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4 April 2025
GUILLOTINE
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
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