infuse
Americanverb (used with object)
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to introduce, as if by pouring; cause to penetrate; instill (usually followed byinto ).
The energetic new principal infused new life into the school.
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to imbue or inspire (usually followed bywith ).
The new coach infused the team with enthusiasm.
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to steep or soak (leaves, bark, roots, etc.) in a liquid so as to extract the soluble properties or ingredients.
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Obsolete. to pour in.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to instil or inculcate
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to inspire; emotionally charge
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to soak or be soaked in order to extract flavour or other properties
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rare (foll by into) to pour
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of infuse
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin infūsus, past participle of infundere “to pour into”; see in- 2, fuse 2
Explanation
To infuse is to steep something in a liquid to extract the flavors from it. You'll impress your friends with your cooking if you infuse rosemary and thyme in broth and then use the liquid to marinate chicken. To infuse also means to inspire or fill with a certain quality. Your goal might be to infuse your writing with such humor that your readers laugh until they cry. The medical meaning of infuse is to introduce a medicinal therapy through a patient's vein. When you're badly dehydrated, doctors may need to infuse you with fluids. The Latin root infusus means "to pour into."
Vocabulary lists containing infuse
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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"This Is Water" by David Foster Wallace
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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.
Infuse in particular is not very well known, but an integral technique to draw out flavor.
From Salon • Sep. 25, 2024
Infuse organic elements such as wood and succulents.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 19, 2023
After the newspaper reported more details about Infuse device problems last year, Klobuchar and fellow Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith wrote Medtronic about the company’s “failure to quickly and accurately report data to the FDA.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2019
That statement is all the more impressive given that the results of the reviews are anything but favorable to Infuse, or to Medtronic.
From Forbes • Jun. 19, 2013
Methinks, a woman of this valiant spirit Should, if a coward heard her speak these words, Infuse his breast with magnanimity, And make him, naked, foil a man at arms.
From King Henry VI, Part 3 by Shakespeare, William
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.
