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.

   Synonym: disperse

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.

Derived terms

• dispellable
• dispeller
• dispelment
• redispel
• undispelled

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)
• Esperanto: dispeli (eo)
• 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, scaip
• Khmer: លុបបំបាត់ជំនឿ (lup bɑmbat cumnɨə)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: dispellō
• 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: gwasgaru (cy), chwalu (cy)

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)
• Spanish: desvanecer (es), disipar (es), aclarar (es), esclarecer (es), dilucidar (es), elucidar (es), desparecer (es)
• Welsh: dileu (cy)

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

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