dispel

/dɪˈspel/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˈspel/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˈspel/ (ame, mw)

dispel — verb

  • dispelpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • dispelshe / she / it
  • dispelledpast simple
  • dispelling-ing form

1. to make a negative feeling, wrong belief, or false idea go away by showing clear

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to make a negative feeling, wrong belief, or false idea go away by showing clearly that it has no good reason to exist or is simply not true.

例句

Diego's calm explanation dispelled all our worries about the safety of the new design.

dispel + abstract noun (worries)

The mayor held a public meeting to dispel rumours that the hospital would close next year.

purpose infinitive: to dispel + rumours

同義詞
  • allay

    narrower — used almost only with 'fear', 'concern', 'anxiety'; less common with 'doubt' or 'myth'

  • banish

    stronger — suggests forcefully pushing a thought or feeling out of one's mind

  • dissipate

    slightly more formal — often describes a feeling gradually fading away rather than being actively removed by evidence

  • scotch

    idiomatic British English; usually 'scotch a rumour' — to decisively end a false story

反義詞
  • fuel

    to make a feeling or belief stronger — 'The article fuelled public suspicion rather than dispelling it.'

  • confirm

    to prove that a doubt or fear was reasonable — 'The results confirmed our worst fears.'

文法句型

dispel + abstract noun (fear/doubt/myth/suspicion)

passive: fears / doubts / myths are dispelled

用法筆記

Dispel is nearly always used with an abstract object — most commonly fears, doubts, rumours, myths, suspicions, or concerns. It is only very rarely used with concrete objects (e.g. 'dispel the crowd' is archaic); the modern use is entirely figurative.

常見錯誤

❌The teacher dispelled the students from the room.
✅The teacher dispelled the students' fears about the exam.
💡dispel works on abstract things (feelings, beliefs), not on people or physical objects.
❌I dispelled my coffee to cool it down.
✅I stirred my coffee to cool it down.
💡dispel is not used for physical mixing or scattering in modern English.