In polyamory, dispersion is any benevolent, non-jealous, relieved, or contented feeling toward the other partners of your own partner, because your partner's time spent with them gives you and your partner time apart, which introverts need to feel comfortable. It was coined to provide a more specific variety of compersion, benevolent and non-jealous feeling toward one's metamour (your own partner's partner). If compersion is being happy to share your partner with somebody else, because it makes them both happy, then dispersion is being happy that your partner is spending time with somebody else, away from you, because it lets you have space and solitude.
Dispersion was coined to be used in this way by redditor /u/TooShortToBeStarbuck, on 17 March 2016, in the /r/polyamory subreddit.
Quoting from the reddit post in question:
"Comperson has been retroactively justified as 'comperage + person + compassion,' or some combination thereof.
Why not dispersion? Yes, it's an actual word, but it both works in a literal sense and in a morphological sense. 'The action or process of distributing things or people over a wide area.' Dispersing one's emotional, social, and other relationship needs across multiple partners allows any one partner to avoid shouldering too much social burden.
The 'com' in 'compassion' is 'with.' The 'dis' in 'dispassion' is 'apart.' The compersion you feel, as a result of being able to get away from each other, is dispersion."
Dispersion was coined to be used in this way by redditor /u/TooShortToBeStarbuck, on 17 March 2016, in the /r/polyamory subreddit.
Quoting from the reddit post in question:
"Comperson has been retroactively justified as 'comperage + person + compassion,' or some combination thereof.
Why not dispersion? Yes, it's an actual word, but it both works in a literal sense and in a morphological sense. 'The action or process of distributing things or people over a wide area.' Dispersing one's emotional, social, and other relationship needs across multiple partners allows any one partner to avoid shouldering too much social burden.
The 'com' in 'compassion' is 'with.' The 'dis' in 'dispassion' is 'apart.' The compersion you feel, as a result of being able to get away from each other, is dispersion."
Brad was feeling socially overstimulated when Jennifer wanted to spend every evening at home, but now Jennifer is also dating Angelina. Brad enjoys great dispersion toward Angelina, catching up on his favourite shows on nights the two women go out together.
by TooShortToBeStarbuck March 19, 2016
by Justin Noel November 9, 2007
The Act of A group of people Scattering when, some form of an offcial is coming. Be it a Cop, and School Adminstrator or a Store Representative. Disperses usually happen after you have lingered somewhere for more then 10 minutes
by ~TKO~ March 23, 2007
A single-leveled, wooden hut that is untidily decorated with rude pinned-up pictures of nearly-naked people, models of airplanes (theirs and ours for recognition purposes), parachutes, helmets, an iron stove, a table, chairs, decks of cards, a telephone, and sometimes boisterous dogs. Normally used in times of war to shelter pilot's for surprise attacks or emergency calls.
The soldiers looked to their assigned dispersal and smiled; It may not be home, but it was close enough.
by Captain Natalie February 2, 2008
To scatter from the scene of the crime or to go seperate ways.
It is also a game, where one throws something at a group of people yelling "DISPERSE" before they throw it. If they get hit or hurt in any way, they can not do anything to you because you had told them to DISPERSE!!!!
It is also a game, where one throws something at a group of people yelling "DISPERSE" before they throw it. If they get hit or hurt in any way, they can not do anything to you because you had told them to DISPERSE!!!!
by AL-BAiDA September 26, 2008
When somehow your food gets spicier the next day after leaving it in the refrigerator. The process by which that occurs is called “spice dispersal”
by PhantomHandbag October 2, 2019
My buddy is taking a 10 day cruise to the Islands where he plans to enjoy the sunny beaches, the beautiful ladies, and hopefully some "Protein Dispersion"!
by talk2me-JCH2 October 5, 2016