What is the difference between disburse and disperse

But wrong I was. If you have any mistakes to share, please bare your soul here. Of course, please limit yourself to mistakes in business writing.

I hear English is defined by its usage rather than the other way around. Therefore, if a small error is repeated many times, it becomes a NON-error. Thank you so much for this! This has puzzled me for quite some time now! I will be sure not to misuse either. Hmmm… if we are going to not pay for something centrally, but prefer that the costs be paid in all separate cost centers… are we disbursing or dispersing the cost?

Paul, interesting question! I would say you are dispersing the costs, based on the discussion above. Hi, George. Your explanation is not correct according to my reference books—the same books I consulted when I learned I was wrong. Even some words that originally had distinct pronunciations have become homophones, or words that sound alike, but mean different things. Disperse and disburse are two such words. While their pronunciations are different only slightly , most speakers pronounce the words identically, and their closely related meanings have led to their misuse in written English.

Professional and academic writing depend on careful word choice, so to use disperse instead of disburse , or vice versa, could damage your credibility. Continue reading to find out the differences between these words, as well as appropriate situations to use each.

In this article, I will compare disperse vs. I will use each of these words in at least one example sentence, so you can see them in context.

Seattle Times Hold on to your purse! Washington Post Twelve nonprofit groups are working with the state government to disburse the aid. Los Angeles Times To remember the difference, look at the letters: Dis p erse a p arty but dis b urse from a b ank. Print Definition:. More Commonly Confused Words. Get started. New Word List Word List. Save This Word! See synonyms for disburse on Thesaurus.

She disbursed the flowers to the children. We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms. See spend. Words nearby disburse disbosom , disbound , disbranch , disbud , disburden , disburse , disbursement , disc , discal , discalced , discant. What does disburse mean? Where does disburse come from? Did you know How is disburse used in real life?

Try using disburse!