Master confusing words with ease
Disperse vs. Disburse
Disperse
/dɪˈspɜːs/Examples:
The police used water cannons to disperse the crowd.Autumn wind helped disperse the fallen leaves across the yard.The seeds disperse more efficiently when attached to fluffy fibers.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Disburse
/dɪsˈbɜːs/Examples:
The manager approved the fund to disburse for the project.We will disburse the scholarship money next week.Funds were disbursed quickly to help flood victims.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Remember that disburse relates to money matters, as in spending or distributing funds.
- Think of disperse as related to scattering things or spreading people over a wide area.
- The prefix dis- in both words implies a sense of separation or distribution.
- Associate burse in disburse with a purse or wallet to remember it involves money.
- Recall that spers in disperse sounds like spread which means to scatter.
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