defuse

or de·fuze

[dee-fyooz]

See more synonyms for defuse on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), de·fused, de·fus·ing.

to remove the fuze from (a bomb, mine, etc.).
to make less dangerous, tense, or embarrassing: to defuse a potentially ugly situation.

verb (used without object), de·fused, de·fus·ing.

to grow less dangerous; weaken.

Origin of defuse

First recorded in 1940–45; de- + fuse¹

Related formsde·fus·er, noun

Can be confuseddefuse diffuse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for defuse

deactivate, soothe, lessen, alleviate, diminish, subdue, cripple, soften, disable, restrain, mollify, pacify, pad, moderate, weaken, demilitarize

Examples from the Web for defuse

Contemporary Examples of defuse

But they still could have done more to defuse the calls for violence from their allies.
De Blasio and the New York City Protesters Have No Blood on Their Hands
Jacob Siegel
December 22, 2014
Principle-based decision making could boost perceived integrity and defuse an overly personalized DC political climate.
What Hockey Players Can Teach our Toothless Politicians
Dave Maney
April 29, 2014
One possible way to defuse the financial incentives and advantages to doping is to legalize it.
Maybe We Should Just Legalize Steroids for Pro Athletes
Robert Silverman
March 3, 2014
On Monday night the contours of a deal to defuse the ticking fiscal bomb emerged in the Senate.
A Debt Deal Won’t Save Us
Daniel Gross
October 15, 2013
Obama has failed to defuse Republican opposition or devise a long-term plan.
What the Rest of the World Thinks of America’s Shutdown
October 3, 2013

Historical Examples of defuse

So we had our people in Gdynia defuse the thing after it was put on board the ship, but otherwise leave it entirely alone.
One-Shot
James Benjamin Blish
At one base I was waiting when they wheeled in a stretcher with the remains of an Englishman who had been trying to defuse a bomb.
The Biography of a Rabbit
Roy Benson
The stem of the black alder of this country before mentioned as arriving to great size, is simply branching and defuse.
The Journals of Lewis and Clark
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

British Dictionary definitions for defuse

defuse

sometimes US defuze

verb (tr)

to remove the triggering device of (a bomb, etc)
to remove the cause of tension from (a crisis, etc)

confusable

Avoid confusion with diffuse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for defuse

1943, from de- + fuse. Related: Defused; defusing.