(1) The act of dispersing or of being dispersed. SYN: dispersal. (2) Incorporation of the particles of one substance into the mass of another, including solutions, suspensions, and colloidal dispersions (solutions). (3) Specifically, what is usually called a colloidal solution. (4) The extent or degree in which values of a statistical frequency distribution are scattered about a mean or median value. [L. dispersio]