v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Aspersed p. pr. & vb. n. Aspersing. ] [ L. aspersus, p. p. of aspergere to scatter, sprinkle; ad + spargere to strew. See Sparse. ] 1. To sprinkle, as water or dust, upon anybody or anything, or to besprinkle any one with a liquid or with dust. Heywood. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bespatter with foul reports or false and injurious charges; to tarnish in point of reputation or good name; to slander or calumniate; as, to asperse a poet or his writings; to asperse a man's character. [ 1913 Webster ]

With blackest crimes aspersed. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To slander; defame; detract from; calumniate; vilify. -- To Asperse, Defame, Slander, Calumniate. These words have in common the idea of falsely assailing the character of another. To asperse is figuratively to cast upon a character hitherto unsullied the imputation of blemishes or faults which render it offensive or loathsome. To defame is to detract from a man's honor and reputation by charges calculated to load him with infamy. Slander (etymologically the same as scandal) and calumniate, from the Latin, have in common the sense of circulating reports to a man's injury from unworthy or malicious motives. Men asperse their neighbors by malignant insinuations; they defame by advancing charges to blacken or sully their fair fame; they slander or calumniate by spreading injurious reports which are false, or by magnifying slight faults into serious errors or crimes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. (Her.) Having an indefinite number of small charges scattered or strewed over the surface. Cussans. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Bespattered; slandered; calumniated. Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who asperses; especially, one who vilifies another. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dispersed p. pr. & vb. n. Dispersing. ] [ L. dispersus, p. p. of dispergere to strew, scatter. See Sparse. ] 1. To scatter abroad; to drive to different parts; to distribute; to diffuse; to spread; as, the Jews are dispersed among all nations. [ 1913 Webster ]

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. Prov. xv. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

Two lions, in the still, dark night,
A herd of beeves disperse. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To scatter, so as to cause to vanish; to dissipate; as, to disperse vapors. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dispersed are the glories. Shak.

Syn. -- To scatter; dissipate; dispel; spread; diffuse; distribute; deal out; disseminate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To separate; to go or move into different parts; to vanish; as, the company dispersed at ten o'clock; the clouds disperse. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To distribute wealth; to share one's abundance with others. [ 1913 Webster ]

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor. Ps. cxii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Scattered. -- Dis*pers"ed*ly adv. -- Dis*pers"ed*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dispersed harmony (Mus.), harmony in which the tones composing the chord are widely separated, as by an octave or more. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Dispersedness. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One that disperses. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not dispersed. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. inspersus, p. p. of inspergere to sprinkle upon; pref. in- in, on + spargere to sprinkle. ] To sprinkle; to scatter. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Interspersed p. pr. & vb. n. Interspersing. ] [ L. interspersus interspersed; inter between, among + spargere to scatter. See Sparse. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To scatter or set here and there among other things; to insert at intervals; as, to intersperse pictures in a book. [ 1913 Webster ]

There, interspersed in lawns and op'ning glades,
Thin trees arise that shun each other's shades. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To diversify or adorn with things set or scattered at intervals; to place something at intervals in or among; as, to intersperse a book with pictures. [ 1913 Webster ]

Which space is interspersed with small islands and rock. Cook. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. respersus, p. p. of respergere; pref. re- re- + spargere to srew, sprinkle. ] To sprinkle; to scatter. [ Obs. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To disperse. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]