Difficult Words : Disseminate, Disparate, Dissipate, Dissolution, Distend and Distinguish





Difficult Words: Disseminate, Disparate, Dissipate, Dissolution, Distend and Distinguish

Disparate (DIS pur it) adj: different; incompatible; unequal

Our interests were disparate. Cathy liked to play with dolls and I liked to throw her dolls out the window.

The disparate interest groups were united only by their intense dislike of the candidate.

The novel was difficult to read, because the plot consisted of dozens of disparate threads that never came together.

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Disseminate (di SEM uh NATE) v: to spread the seeds of something, to scatter, to make widely known

News is disseminated through many media; radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and gossips.

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Dissipate (DIS uh PATE) v: to thin out, drift away, or dissolve; to waste or squander

The smoke dissipated as soon as we opened the windows.

Rex's anger dissipated as the day wore on and he gradually forgot what had upset him.

The police dissipated the riotous crowd by spraying the demonstrators with fire hoses and firing bullets over their heads.

Alex won the weekly lottery but dissipated the entire winnings in one abandoned, fun-filled weekend.

We can also say that a person is dissipated, by which we mean that he indulges in wild living.

Alex is dissipated.

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Dissolution (DIS uh LOO shun) n: the breaking up or dissolving of something into parts; disintegration

Nothing could prevent the dissolution of the Pee Wee Herman Fan club after he retired to seek a political career.

A person who is dissolute has lived life in the fast lane too long. Dissolute and dissipated are synonyms in this sense.

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Distend (di STEND) v: to swell; to extend a great deal

The tire distended alarmingly as the forgetful gas station attendant kept pumping more and more air into it.

A distended belly is one symptom of malnutrition.

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Distinguish (di STING gwish) v: to tell apart; to cause to stand out

The rodent expert's eyesight was so acute that he was able to distinguish between a shrew and a vole at more than a thousand paces.

I studied and studied but I was never able to disguise between discrete and discreet.

His face had no distinguishing characteristics. There was nothing about his features that stuck in your memory.

Lou's uneventful career as dogcatcher was not distinguished by adventure or excitement.

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