dispersion

8 synonyms and 2 antonyms for dispersion, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The act of scattering things widely, or the state of being spread out over a large area.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

spread distribution

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

scattering variance

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

dispersal diffusion dissemination variability

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The act of scattering things widely, or the state of being spread out over a large area.

“Wind is the main agent of seed dispersion for dandelions.”

scattering dispersal spread diffusion dissemination distribution

Opposites

concentration aggregation

2. noun

In statistics, the extent to which values in a data set are spread out around their average, measured by quantities such as range, variance and standard deviation.

“Two classes had the same mean score but very different dispersion.”

spread variability variance

How to use dispersion

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

measure of dispersion seed dispersion chromatic dispersion dispersion of light

Formal and technical; core in statistics, physics, ecology and environmental science.

Etymology

From Latin dispergere 'to scatter', formed from dis- 'apart' and spargere 'to strew'.

Full origin of dispersion →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between dispersion and diffusion?

Diffusion is spreading driven by the random motion of particles moving from high to low concentration. Dispersion is broader: it is scattering by any means, including being carried by wind or currents, and in optics it means splitting light into its colours.

What are the main measures of dispersion?

Range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation. Range is quickest but is distorted by a single outlier; standard deviation is the standard choice because it uses every value and is in the same units as the data.

Why does a prism split white light?

Because glass bends short wavelengths slightly more than long ones, so violet is refracted further than red and the colours emerge along different paths. That wavelength-dependent refraction is dispersion.

People also searched

spread distribution concentration variance scattering dispersal diffusion aggregation dissemination variability

Nearby words

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