disperse vs scatter

disperse

verb
  • To scatter in different directions. 

  • To break up and disappear; to dissipate. 

  • To disseminate. 

  • To separate rays of light, etc., according to wavelength; to refract. 

  • To distribute throughout. 

adj
  • Scattered or spread out. 

scatter

verb
  • To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse. 

  • Of a pitcher: to keep down the number of hits or walks. 

  • To deflect (radiation or particles). 

  • To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals. 

  • To distribute loosely as by sprinkling. 

  • To frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow. 

  • To be dispersed upon. 

noun
  • The act of scattering or dispersing. 

  • A collection of dispersed objects. 

How often have the words disperse and scatter occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )