diffuse

diffuse

to pour out and spread; to scatter widely or thinly; disseminate: diffuse the seeds

Not to be confused with:

defuse – to remove the fuse from; to make less dangerous or tense: His apology defused a potentially ugly situation.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

dif·fuse

 (dĭ-fyo͞oz′)

v. dif·fused, dif·fus·ing, dif·fus·es

v.tr.

1. To cause to spread out freely: smoke that is diffused throughout the room.

2. To make known to or cause to be used by large numbers of people; disseminate: diffuses ideas over the internet.

3. To make less brilliant; soften: light that is diffused through frosted glass.

4. To make less intense; weaken: a remark that diffused the tension in the interview.

5. Physics To cause to undergo diffusion.

v.intr.

1. To become widely dispersed; spread out: The hormone diffuses throughout the body.

2. Physics To undergo diffusion.

adj. (dĭ-fyo͞os′)

1. Widely spread or scattered; not concentrated: Diffuse light is often hard to read by.

2. Wordy or unclear: a diffuse description. See Synonyms at wordy.

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[From Middle English, dispersed, from Anglo-Norman diffus, from Latin diffūsus, past participle of diffundere, to spread : dis-, out, apart; see dis- + fundere, to pour; see gheu- in Indo-European roots.]

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dif·fuse′ly (-fyo͞os′lē) adv.

dif·fuse′ness (-fyo͞os′nĭs) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

diffuse

vb

1. to spread or cause to spread in all directions

2. (General Physics) to undergo or cause to undergo diffusion

3. to scatter or cause to scatter; disseminate; disperse

adj

4. spread out over a wide area

5. lacking conciseness

6. (Botany) (esp of some creeping stems) spreading loosely over a large area

7. (General Physics) characterized by or exhibiting diffusion: diffuse light; diffuse reflection.

8. (Botany) botany (of plant growth) occurring throughout a tissue

[C15: from Latin diffūsus spread abroad, from diffundere to pour forth, from dis- away + fundere to pour]

diffusely adv

difˈfuseness n

diffusible adj

difˌfusiˈbility, difˈfusibleness n

Usage: Avoid confusion with defuse

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dif•fuse

(v. dɪˈfyuz; adj. -ˈfyus)

v. -fused, -fusing,
adj. v.t.

1. to pour out and spread: oil diffused over a surface.

2. to spread or scatter widely or thinly; disseminate.

3. Physics. to spread or scatter by diffusion.

v.i.

4. to spread.

5. Physics. to intermingle by diffusion.

adj.

6. characterized by great length or discursiveness in speech or writing; wordy.

7. widely spread or scattered; dispersed.

[1350–1400; < Latin diffūsus, past participle of diffundere to spread over, diffuse =dif- dif- + fundere to pour]

dif•fuse′ly (-ˈfyus li) adv.

dif•fuse′ness, n.

dif•fus′i•ble (-ˈfyu zə bəl) adj.

dif•fus`i•bil′i•ty, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

diffuse

- Based on Latin diffundere, "pour out," from fundere, "pour," it means "to spread out."

See also related terms for pour.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

diffuse

Past participle: diffused
Gerund: diffusing

Imperative

diffuse

diffuse

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	diffuse - move outward; "The soldiers fanned out" fan out, spread out, spread spread, distribute - distribute or disperse widely; "The invaders spread their language all over the country" percolate - spread gradually; "Light percolated into our house in the morning" creep - grow or spread, often in such a way as to cover (a surface); "ivy crept over the walls of the university buildings" bleed, run - be diffused; "These dyes and colors are guaranteed not to run" mantle - spread over a surface, like a mantle
	2.	diffuse - spread or diffuse through; "An atmosphere of distrust has permeated this administration"; "music penetrated the entire building"; "His campaign was riddled with accusations and personal attacks" imbue, permeate, pervade, interpenetrate, riddle, penetrate penetrate, perforate - pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The bullet penetrated her chest" spiritise, spiritize - imbue with a spirit
	3.	diffuse - cause to become widely known; "spread information"; "circulate a rumor"; "broadcast the news" disseminate, pass around, circulate, broadcast, circularise, circularize, spread, disperse, propagate, distribute publicize, bare, publicise, air - make public; "She aired her opinions on welfare" podcast - distribute (multimedia files) over the internet for playback on a mobile device or a personal computer sow - introduce into an environment; "sow suspicion or beliefs" circulate, go around, spread - become widely known and passed on; "the rumor spread"; "the story went around in the office" popularise, popularize, vulgarise, vulgarize, generalise, generalize - cater to popular taste to make popular and present to the general public; bring into general or common use; "They popularized coffee in Washington State"; "Relativity Theory was vulgarized by these authors" carry, run - include as the content; broadcast or publicize; "We ran the ad three times"; "This paper carries a restaurant review"; "All major networks carried the press conference"
Adj.	1.	diffuse - spread out; not concentrated in one place; "a large diffuse organization" distributed - spread out or scattered about or divided up
	2.	diffuse - (of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected diffused, soft
	3.	diffuse - lacking conciseness; "a diffuse historical novel" prolix - tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length; "editing a prolix manuscript"; "a prolix lecturer telling you more than you want to know"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

diffuse

verb

1. spread, distribute, scatter, circulate, disperse, dispense, dispel, dissipate, propagate, disseminate Our aim is to diffuse new ideas obtained from elsewhere.

adjective

1. spread out, scattered, dispersed, unconcentrated a diffuse community
spread out concentrated

2. rambling, loose, vague, meandering, waffling (informal), long-winded, wordy, discursive, verbose, prolix, maundering, digressive, diffusive, circumlocutory His writing is so diffuse that it is almost impossible to understand.
rambling brief, to the point, concise, terse, succinct, apposite, compendious

Usage: This word is quite commonly misused instead of defuse, when talking about calming down a situation. However, the words are very different in meaning and should never be used as alternatives to each other.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

diffuse

verb

To extend over a wide area:

circulate, disperse, disseminate, distribute, radiate, scatter, spread, strew.

adjective

Using or containing an excessive number of words:

long-winded, periphrastic, pleonastic, prolix, redundant, verbose, wordy.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَنْشُر

rozptýlit

spredeudbrede

zerstreuen

hajaantuahajotahajottaalevitälevittää

diffuserrépandredésamorcerdiffus

dreifa

diffonderediffusodivulgareluce diffusaprolisso

išsklaidytisklaidyti

izkliedētizplatītizplatīties

diffussprediffundere

yaymak

使扩散

diffuse

A. [dɪˈfjuːs] ADJ (= spread out) [light] → difuso; (= long-winded) [style, writer] → difuso, prolijo

B. [dɪˈfjuːz] VT [+ light] → difundir; [+ heat] → difundir, esparcir; [+ information, ideas] → difundir

C. [dɪˈfjuːz] VI [heat, gas] → difundirse, esparcirse

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

diffuse

[dɪˈfjuːs]

adj (= not concentrated) → diffus(e)

[dɪˈfjuːz] vt

(= spread) [+ knowledge] → diffuser, répandre

[+ light] → diffuser, répandre

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

diffuse

vt light, heat, gas, rays → ausstrahlen, verbreiten; fluid → ausgießen, ausschütten; (Chem) → diffundieren, verwischen; perfume → verbreiten, verströmen; (fig) knowledge, custom, news → verbreiten; tension → verringern, abbauen

vi → ausstrahlen, sich ver- or ausbreiten; (fluid) → sich ausbreiten; (Chem) → diffundieren, sich verwischen; (perfume, odour) → ausströmen; (fig, custom, news) → sich verbreiten; (tension) → sich verringern

adj

gas, rays, light → diffus; feeling → undeutlich, vage

(= verbose) style, writer → langatmig, weitschweifig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

diffuse

[vb dɪˈfjuːz; adj dɪˈfjuːs]

1. vt (light, heat, gas, information) → diffondere; (heat, perfume) → emanare

2. vi → diffondersi

3. adj (light) → diffuso/a; (style, writing) → prolisso/a; (organization) → ramificato/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

diffuse

(diˈfjuːz) verb

to (cause to) spread in all directions. versprei يَنْشُر разпространявам difundir rozptýlit (se) zerstreuen sprede; udbrede διαχέωdifundir levitama پخش کردن؛ پراکنده کردن levitä diffuser, répandre לְפָזֵר फैलाना, छितराना, फैला हुआ rasprostirati se, širiti se áraszt menyebar dreifa diffondere 広める 퍼지게 하다 sklisti, (iš)sklaidyti izplatīt; izplatīties; izkliedēt menyebarkan verspreidenspre rozprzestrzeniać się شيندل، تيتول، خپرول: تيتېدل، شيندل، كېدل، خپرېدل difundir a (se) difuza, a (se) răspândi распространять rozptýliť sa razpršiti (se) rasprostirati se sprida[s], sprida sig แพร่กระจาย yaymak 使擴散 розповсюджувати; поширювати منتشر کرنا phổ biến 使扩散

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

dif·fuse

vt. difundir, extender.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

diffuse

adj difuso

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.