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suffuse

[suh-fyooz]
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verb (used with object), suf·fused, suf·fus·ing.
  1. to overspread with or as with a liquid, color, etc.
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Origin of suffuse

First recorded in 1580–90, suffuse is from the Latin word suffūsus (past participle of suffundere). See suf-, fuse2
Related formssuf·fused·ly [suh-fyoozd-lee, -fyoo-zid-] /səˈfyuzd li, -ˈfyu zɪd-/, adverbsuf·fu·sion [suh-fyoo-zhuh n] /səˈfyu ʒən/, nounsuf·fu·sive [suh-fyoo-siv] /səˈfyu sɪv/, adjectiveun·suf·fused, adjectiveun·suf·fu·sive, adjective

Synonyms

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cover, pervade, diffuse, bathe, flood.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for suffusion

Historical Examples

  • His quick look at her she remembered, and the suffusion on his burnt face.

    Love and Lucy

    Maurice Henry Hewlett

  • Melanism: an abnormal or unusual darkening: a suffusion with blackish.

  • Suffusion: a clouding, or a spreading of one shade over another.

  • Thus only can we achieve the suffusion of vision of the happy inebriate.

  • Possibly from the suffusion of blood to the face caused by it.

    The Slang Dictionary

    John Camden Hotten

British Dictionary definitions for suffusion

suffuse

verb
  1. (tr; usually passive) to spread or flood through or over (something)the evening sky was suffused with red
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Derived Formssuffusion (səˈfjuːʒən), nounsuffusive, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Latin suffūsus overspread with, from suffundere, from sub- + fundere to pour
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 suffusion

n.

late 14c., from Latin suffusionem (nominative suffusio) "a pouring over," from suffusus, past participle of suffundere "pour upon, overspread, suffuse," from sub "under" + fundere "to pour" (see found (v.2)).

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suffuse

v.

1580s, from Latin suffusus, past participle of suffundere (see suffusion). Related: Suffused; suffusing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
suffusion in Medicine

suffusion

(sə-fyōō′zhən)
n.
  1. The act of pouring a fluid over the body.
  2. The condition of being wet with a fluid.
  3. A spreading out of a body fluid from a vessel into the surrounding tissues.
  4. The reddening of a surface.
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Related formssuf•fuse′ (-fyōōz′) v.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.