dispel

verb, noun — 4 senses

dispel

verb

[dɪˈspɛɫ]

Etymology From Middle English dispelen, from Latin dispellere (“to disperse; to dispel”).

1

To drive away or cause to vanish by scattering.

  • The clouds and mist were soon enough dispelled by the sun.
2

To remove (fears, doubts, objections etc.) by proving them unjustified.

  • 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.1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, page 01:
  • The fate of the railway from Ballater to Braemar has been invested with an air of mystery, which has never been completely dispelled. It has been suggested that Queen Victoria was opposed to a railway in the vicinity of Balmoral Castle, and intervened personally to secure the abandonment of the line beyond Ballater.1957 January 23, H. A. Vallance, “The Deeside Railway—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 6:
3

Africa, With with To get rid of or manage without.

Derived terms
dispellable, dispeller, dispelment, redispel, undispelled

dispel

noun

Etymology From Middle English dispelen, from Latin dispellere (“to disperse; to dispel”).

1

An act or instance of dispelling.

  • “My dispel didn't work,” she said finally. “He wasn't a blood witch, Sunny,” I said.2008, Caitlin Kittredge, Night Life:
Related terms
dispulsion

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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