diffuse
Americanverb (used with object)
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to pour out and spread, as a fluid.
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to spread or scatter widely or thinly; disseminate.
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Physics. to spread by diffusion.
adjective
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characterized by great length or discursiveness in speech or writing; wordy.
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widely spread or scattered; dispersed.
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Botany. widely or loosely spreading.
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Optics. (of reflected light) scattered, as from a rough surface (opposed to specular).
verb
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to spread or cause to spread in all directions
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to undergo or cause to undergo diffusion
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to scatter or cause to scatter; disseminate; disperse
adjective
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spread out over a wide area
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lacking conciseness
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(esp of some creeping stems) spreading loosely over a large area
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characterized by or exhibiting diffusion
diffuse light
diffuse reflection
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botany (of plant growth) occurring throughout a tissue
Commonly Confused
See defuse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of diffuse
1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Latin diffūsus spread, poured forth. See dif-, fuse 2
Explanation
Diffuse means to spread out. Candlelight can diffuse a soft glow throughout a room. A diffuse idea is one that spreads from person to person, and a diffuse speech is scattered and unclear. As a verb, diffuse means to spread something out, but also applies to spreading things such as ideas or culture so that they become widely known. When something is diffused, it's mixed in, and when you drop propaganda pamphlets out of airplanes you're diffusing the propaganda. The adjective comes from Latin diffusus, from diffundere "to pour in different directions," from the prefix dis- "apart" plus fundere, "to pour."
Vocabulary lists containing diffuse
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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ACT Vocabulary List
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1984
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Diffuse gliomas are malignant brain tumors that cannot be optimally examined by means of conventional MRI imaging.
From Science Daily • Jan. 3, 2024
Diffuse gastric cancer is an inherited disease, and it’s one that he did not wish to pass on.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2023
Diffuse gas in the two galactic haloes would compress on collision, forming a curved structure like the bow wave from a ship moving through water.
From Scientific American • Jan. 12, 2023
“After several days of tests, I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer,” he said.
From Washington Post • Dec. 28, 2022
Aromatic plants bestow No spicy fragrance while they grow; But crushed or trodden to the ground, Diffuse their balmy sweets around.
From Architects of Fate or, Steps to Success and Power by Marden, Orison Swett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
