different between commingle vs intersperse

English

Alternative forms

• co-mingle
• comingle

Etymology

co- +? mingle, with ‘m’ doubled to clarify pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -????l

Verb

commingle (third-person singular simple present commingles, present participle commingling, simple past and past participle commingled)

1. (transitive) To mix, to blend.
2. (intransitive) To become mixed or blended.

Usage notes

Particularly used in financial law to refer to mixing funds – see commingling.

Translations

English

Etymology

From Latin intersperg?, interspersus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?nt?(?)?sp??(?)s/

Verb

intersperse (third-person singular simple present intersperses, present participle interspersing, simple past and past participle interspersed)

1. To mix two things irregularly, placing things of one kind among things of other:
   • 1991, Frank Biocca, Television and Political Advertising: Signs, codes, and images, page 76:

     For example, a commercial sequence might intersperse pictures of a senator working in his office with shots of ordinary Americans happily working in various walks of life.

2. (transitive) To scatter or insert something into or among other things.
   • 1985, Jane Y. Murdock, Barbara V. Hartmann, Communication and language intervention program (CLIP) for individuals with moderate to severe handicaps, page 46:

     Review tasks are particularly useful to intersperse when students are experiencing considerable failure.
3. (transitive) To diversify by placing or inserting other things among something.

   Mother Nature interspersed the petunias with a few dandelions, but it was a pretty garden, anyway.

Related terms

• interspersed
• interspersion

Translations

References

• intersperse in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• intersperse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• enterprises, entreprises, serpentries