Dispersive \Dis*pers"ive\, a. Tending to disperse. {Dispersive power} (Opt.), the relative effect of a material in separating the different rays of light by refraction, as when the substance is formed into a prism. -- {Dis*pers"ive*ness}, n.
dispersive adj 1: spreading by diffusion [syn: {diffusing(a)}, {diffusive}, {disseminative}, {disseminating}, {scattering}, {spreading}] 2: tending to disperse [syn: {distributive}]