dissipation

noun

Etymology: From Middle English dissipacion, dissipacioun, from Late Latin dissipātiō. Morphologically dissipate + -ion.

1. The act of dissipating or dispersing; a state of dispersion or separation; dispersion; waste.

   “without loss or dissipation of the matter”

   “the famous dissipation of mankind”

2. A dissolute course of life, in which health, money, etc., are squandered in pursuit of pleasure; profuseness in immoral indulgence, as late hours, riotous living, etc.; dissoluteness.

   “18th century, Patrick Henry in a parliamentary debate to reclaim the spendthrift from his dissipation and extravagance”

   “I rose by candle-light, and consumed, in the intensest application, the hours which every other individual of our party wasted in enervating slumbers, from the hesternal dissipation or debauch.”

3. A trifle which wastes time or distracts attention.

   “Prevented from finishing them [the letters] a thousand avocations and dissipations.”

4. A loss of energy, usually as heat, from a dynamic system.

   “They conclude[…] the planet will have a final period of rotation between 56 and 88 days, depending on the assumed form of the dissipation function.”