The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dispel \Dis*pel"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dispelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dispelling.] [L. dispellere; dis- + pellere to push, drive. See Pulse a beating.] To drive away by scattering, or so to cause to vanish; to clear away; to banish; to dissipate; as, to dispel a cloud, vapors, cares, doubts, illusions.
[Satan] gently raised
their fainting courage, and dispelled their fears.
--Milton.
I saw myself the lambent easy light
Gild the brown horror, and dispel the night.
--Dryden.
Wiktionary
vb. (present participle of dispel English)
WordNet
v. force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings; "Drive away potential burglars"; "drive away bad thoughts"; "dispel doubts"; "The supermarket had to turn back many disappointed customers" [syn: chase away, drive out, turn back, drive away, drive off, run off]
to cause to separate and go in different directions; "She waved her hand and scattered the crowds" [syn: disperse, dissipate, break up, scatter]
[also: dispelling, dispelled]
See dispel
Usage examples of "dispelling".
The wisest thing to do was to remain within as long as possible in the hopes that the surface dwellers had no more magic suitable for canceling or dispelling her field of darkness.
Another spell struck Quenthel—some kind of dispelling magic that snuffed out her levitation.
She listened as he fumbled around in the nightstand, finally locating the flashlight and clicking it on, the beam of light dispelling the darkness.
Her heart began pounding with excitement, the rush of adrenaline dispelling her fatigue.
A fire leaped merrily in the big fireplace, dispelling the early-morning chill.
A small fire crackled in the hearth, dispelling the chill, and two thick candles appeared to have been lit only moments before, for the tallow was only now beginning to melt down the columns.
Thanking God for the efficiency of the Marriott's air conditioning, she stumbled to the shower and let cool water pelt down on her, dispelling more of the mental cobwebs.
Yes, Borgia has been here, a torch in one hand, a sword in the other, and within twenty paces, at the foot of this rock, perhaps two guards kept watch on land and sea, while their master descended, as I am about to descend, dispelling the darkness before his awe-inspiring progress.
Still, she felt her pulse, and finding it throb violently she remembered that the best method of dispelling such illusions was to drink, for a draught of the beverage prepared by the doctor to allay her fever seemed to cause a reaction of the brain, and for a short time she suffered less.
Morrel was not insensible to that sensation of delight which is generally experienced in passing rapidly through the air, and the wind which occasionally raised the hair from his forehead seemed on the point of dispelling momentarily the clouds collected there.
Dillon's impatient tone cut through the strange illusion, dispelling it instantly.
The steamboats, which are fast dispelling the wildness and romance of our lakes and rivers, and aiding to subdue the world into commonplace, are proving as fatal to the race of the Canadian voyageurs as they have been to that of the boatmen of the Mississippi.
She chanted again, dispelling the magic she had just enacted to fend off the cold.
He quickly wove the dispelling magic and watched as the aura surrounding the metal faded from his sight.
Their scent at once filled the room, dispelling the last remnants of the foul odor of sickness.