diffuse
[verb dih-fyooz; adjective dih-fyoos]
- to pour out and spread, as a fluid.
- to spread or scatter widely or thinly; disseminate.
- Physics. to spread by diffusion.
- to spread.
- Physics. to intermingle by diffusion.
- characterized by great length or discursiveness in speech or writing; wordy.
- widely spread or scattered; dispersed.
- Botany. widely or loosely spreading.
- Optics. (of reflected light) scattered, as from a rough surface (opposed to specular).
Origin of diffuse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for diffuse
Contemporary Examples
The protests so far have relied on a small group of core organizing bodies to harness broad but diffuse support.
Organizations engaging in network are often diffuse, leaderless, and incredibly resilient.
At one point they even told her she was delusional, despite her diffuse ulcerating lesions.
With two Texans in the running as potential candidates, Sessions sought to diffuse any awkwardness.
Republicans Panicked After Eric Cantor Loss: ‘This Is Like Robespierre’Ben Jacobs, Tim Mak
June 11, 2014
They intercept and diffuse, to some extent babysitting the possible aggressor until the disease of violent intent has passed.
Using Strategies Reserved for Disease Outbreak, Activists Try to “Cure” Urban ViolenceSarah Kunst
April 11, 2014
Historical Examples
Flora, who had seemed enchanting in all she said and thought, was diffuse and silly.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
Knowledge is not necessarily light; and it is light, not knowledge, that we have to diffuse.
A Dish Of OrtsGeorge MacDonald
They diffuse what is known and forget what remains to be known.
Shelley, Godwin and Their CircleH. N. Brailsford
The message was explicit, and, in the point of affection, diffuse.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
A soft glow seemed to diffuse from the man's clothing and body.
The Whispering SpheresRussell Robert Winterbotham
diffuse
- to spread or cause to spread in all directions
- to undergo or cause to undergo diffusion
- to scatter or cause to scatter; disseminate; disperse
- spread out over a wide area
- lacking conciseness
- (esp of some creeping stems) spreading loosely over a large area
- characterized by or exhibiting diffusiondiffuse light; diffuse reflection
- botany (of plant growth) occurring throughout a tissue
Word Origin
C15: from Latin diffūsus spread abroad, from diffundere to pour forth, from dis- away + fundere to pour
confusable
Avoid confusion with defuse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for diffuse
v.
1520s (transitive), 1650s (intransitive), from Latin diffusus, past participle of diffundere "to pour out or away" (see diffusion). Related: Diffused; diffusing.
adj.
early 15c., from Latin diffusus (see diffuse (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
diffuse
(dĭ-fyōōs′)
- Not limited to one tissue or location; widespread.
- To spread or to be spread widely, as through a tissue.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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