supare

throw, scatter

2 / 2

Man carelessly tips purse so coins scatter uselessly away while a small sensible grocery basket sits empty; expression distracted, visible waste of money without glamorous gambling.

noun

dissipation

dis-ih-PAY-shun/ˌdɪsɪˈpeɪʃn/

The spreading or wasting away of something.

Etymology

disLatinapart, away; reversal or negation

+sipLatinthrow, scatter

+ationLatinan action, process, or result

The pieces describe an act of scattering apart. Applied to money, energy, or resources, that scattering becomes wasteful expenditure: what could be conserved is instead squandered.

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Related word entries

dissipate
dissipation