suffuse

[ suh-fyooz ]

/ səˈfyuz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR suffuse ON THESAURUS.COM

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

to overspread with or as with a liquid, color, etc.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

suffragette, suffragist, suffrutescent, suffruticose, suffumigate, suffuse, suffusion, suffusive, sufi, sufiism, sufism

Origin of suffuse

First recorded in 1580–90, suffuse is from the Latin word suffūsus (past participle of suffundere). See suf-, fuse²

SYNONYMS FOR suffuse

cover, pervade, diffuse, bathe, flood.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR suffuse ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

suf·fused·ly

[suh-fyoozd-lee, -fyoo-zid-] /səˈfyuzd li, -ˈfyu zɪd-/, adverbsuf·fu·sion

[suh-fyoo-zhuhn] /səˈfyu ʒən/, nounsuf·fu·sive

[suh-fyoo-siv] /səˈfyu sɪv/, adjectiveun·suf·fused, adjective

un·suf·fu·sive, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for suffusion

This time the suffusion on her cheeks was not in the least doubtful.
Pencil Sketches|Eliza Leslie
Suffusion: a clouding, or a spreading of one shade over another.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology|John. B. Smith
There was not a change in his countenance; his piety was intact; there was not even a suffusion of colour.
The Humourous Story of Farmer Bumpkin's Lawsuit|Richard Harris
Milton, speaking of his own blindness, expresses a doubt whether it arose from the Gutta Serena or the suffusion of a cataract.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1|The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.

The suffusion of the brain will increase quickly, so we must trephine at once or it may be too late.
Dracula|Bram Stoker

British Dictionary definitions for suffusion

suffuse

/ (səˈfjuːz) /

verb

(tr; usually passive) to spread or flood through or over (something)the evening sky was suffused with red

Derived Formssuffusion (səˈfjuːʒən), nounsuffusive, adjective

Word Origin for suffuse

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 (1 of 2)

suffusion

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)).

Word Origin and History for suffusion (1 of 2)

suffuse

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

Medicine definitions for suffusion

suffusion

[ sə-fyōō′zhən ]

n.

The act of pouring a fluid over the body.

The condition of being wet with a fluid.

A spreading out of a body fluid from a vessel into the surrounding tissues.

The reddening of a surface.

Related formssuf•fuse′ (-fyōōz′) v.