disperse

Compared meaning: to spread out in different directions (verb).

比较义项：四散，向不同方向散开（动词）。

• scatter

  Scatter suggests a quick, often disorderly spreading caused by wind, fear, or force; it's common and informal, and fits leaves, animals, or loose objects best.

  scatter 强调快速、常显得杂乱无序地散开，多由风、恐惧或外力引起；它更口语化、更常用，适合描述树叶、动物或散落物品等的散开。

  The wind will scatter these leaves all across the yard tonight.

  今晚风会把这些树叶吹散得满院子都是。

• disperse 本词

  Disperse is more formal and implies an orderly separation, typically used for crowds, smoke, or gas that spreads out following an instruction or over time.

  disperse 更为正式，暗示一种较为有序的散开，通常用于人群、烟雾或气体等在指令下或随时间推移而散开。

  The police asked the crowd to disperse quietly after the concert.

  音乐会结束后，警察要求人群安静地散开。

Scatter and disperse both mean to spread out in different directions, but differ in tone. Scatter is informal, suggesting a quick, messy spreading caused by wind or fear. Disperse is more formal, suggesting an orderly separation, used for crowds, smoke, or gas spreading over time.

这两个词在“向不同方向散开”这一意义上很接近，但语气和使用场合不同：scatter 更口语化，强调快速、常显得杂乱无章地散开，多由风、恐惧或外力引起；disperse 更正式，常指人群、气体等在指令或自然力作用下较为有序地散开。