diffusive

[dih-fyoo-siv]

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adjective

tending to diffuse; characterized by diffusion.

Origin of diffusive

First recorded in 1605–15; diffuse + -ive

Related formsdif·fu·sive·ly, adverbdif·fu·sive·ness, nounin·ter·dif·fu·sive, adjectivein·ter·dif·fu·sive·ness, nounself-dif·fu·sive, adjectiveself-dif·fu·sive·ly, adverbself-dif·fu·sive·ness, nounun·dif·fu·sive, adjectiveun·dif·fu·sive·ly, adverbun·dif·fu·sive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for diffusive

late, lengthy, slow, protracted, prolonged, delayed, sustained, dragging, diffuse, lingering, moving, rotating, circling, rambling, meandering, loose, long, lavish, dull, waffling

Examples from the Web for diffusive

Historical Examples of diffusive

One of the maxims of the old Greek philosophers was that good is diffusive of itself.
Old-Time Makers of Medicine
James J. Walsh
I am so diffusive and wanting in close condensed habits of thought.
Life of John Coleridge Patteson
Charlotte M. Yonge
Our national life is too diffusive to yield the best social fruits.
The Collector
Henry T. Tuckerman
For what is Catholicity but a unity which expands and is diffusive?
The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869
Various
The French writer is inevitably epigrammatic first, and, if diffusive afterward, it is with malice aforethought.
The Galaxy, Volume 23, No. 2, February, 1877
Various

British Dictionary definitions for diffusive

diffusive

adjective

characterized by diffusion

Derived Formsdiffusively, adverbdiffusiveness, noun

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