dispel

English

Etymology

From Middle English dispelen, from Latin dispellere (“to disperse; to dispel”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dɪˈspɛɫ]

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: di‧spel
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Verb

dispel (third-person singular simple present dispels, present participle dispelling, simple past and past participle dispelled)

1. (transitive) To drive away or cause to vanish by scattering.
2. (transitive) To remove (fears, doubts, objections etc.) by proving them unjustified.
   • 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, page 01:

     It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. […]. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.

Collocations

• dispel a cloud
• dispel rumours
• dispel cares
• dispel doubts
• dispel illusions
• dispel objections
• dispel vapors

Translations

to drive away by scattering

• Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: ցրել (hy) (cʻrel)
• Asturian: esvalixar
• Belarusian: разве́йваць (razvjéjvacʹ), рассе́йваць (rassjéjvacʹ)
• Bulgarian: разсейвам (bg) (razsejvam), разпръсквам (bg) (razprǎskvam)
• Catalan: dissipar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 打消 (zh) (dǎxiāo) (doubts), 驅散／驱散 (zh) (qūsàn)

• Czech: rozptýlit
• Danish: henvejre
• Dhivehi: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: verjagen (nl), verdrijven (nl)
• Estonian: purustama
• Finnish: hälventää, haihduttaa, häivyttää (fi)
• French: chasser (fr), dissiper (fr)
• Galician: please add this translation if you can
• German: zerstreuen (de)
• Greek: please add this translation if you can
• Hebrew: הֵפִיג (hefíg), פִּזֵּר (he) (pizér)
• Hungarian: szétoszlat (hu), eloszlat (hu)
• Irish: ruaig
• Khmer: លុបបំបាត់ជំនឿ (lup bɑmbat cumnɨə)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: whakamahea, tokotoko, whakakorara
• Mirandese: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: please add this translation if you can
• Occitan: dissipar, dispersar (oc)
• Polish: rozwiewać
• Portuguese: dissipar (pt), dispersar (pt)
• Romanian: spulbera (ro)
• Russian: разве́ивать (ru) impf (razvéivatʹ), разве́ять (ru) pf (razvéjatʹ), рассе́ивать (ru) impf (rasséivatʹ), рассе́ять (ru) pf (rasséjatʹ), разгоня́ть (ru) impf (razgonjátʹ), разогна́ть (ru) pf (razognátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: please add this translation if you can
• Slovene: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: disipar (es), dispersar (es)
• Ukrainian: розві́ювати (rozvíjuvaty), розсі́ювати (rozsíjuvaty)
• Welsh: please add this translation if you can

to remove fears etc.

• Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: rozptýlit pf, rozptylovat impf
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Galician: please add this translation if you can
• German: ausräumen (de)
• Hungarian: elűz (hu), eloszlat (hu)
• Irish: ruaig
• Maori: whakamahea
• Norwegian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: развеивать (ru) (razveivatʹ), развенчивать (ru) (razvenčivatʹ), изобличать (ru) (izobličatʹ), дезавуировать (ru) (dezavuirovatʹ)

Noun

dispel (plural dispels)

1. An act or instance of dispelling.
   • 2008, Caitlin Kittredge, Night Life‎^[1]:

     “My dispel didn't work,” she said finally. “He wasn't a blood witch, Sunny,” I said.

Related terms

• dispulsion

Anagrams

• Spidle, diples, disple, lisped, pleids, spiled