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diffusive

[dih-fyoo-siv]
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adjective
  1. tending to diffuse; characterized by diffusion.
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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. 2018

Related Words

latelengthyslowprotractedprolongeddelayedsustaineddraggingdiffuselingeringmovingrotatingcirclingramblingmeanderinglooselonglavishdullwaffling

Examples from the Web for diffusive

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • 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 French writer is inevitably epigrammatic first, and, if diffusive afterward, it is with malice aforethought.

British Dictionary definitions for diffusive

diffusive

adjective
  1. characterized by diffusion
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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