diffuse

See also: diffusé

English

Etymology 1

From Middle French diffuser, from Latin diffūsus, past participle of diffundere, from dis- + fundere.

Pronunciation

• enPR: dĭfyo͞oz'
• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfjuːz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfjuz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːz
• Homophone: defuse

Verb

diffuse (third-person singular simple present diffuses, present participle diffusing, simple past and past participle diffused)

1. (transitive) To spread over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means.
   • 1837, William Whewell, “Earliest Stages of Astronomy”, in History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Times. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: J. and J. J. Deighton, →OCLC, book III (History of Greek Astronomy), section 3 (Correction of the Civil Year. (Julian Calendar.)), page 121:

     We do not know by whom the insufficiency of the year of 365 days was first discovered; we find this knowledge diffused among all civilized nations, and various artifices used in making the correction.

2. (intransitive) To be spread over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means.

   Food coloring diffuses in water.

   The riot diffused quite suddenly.

Usage notes

The words diffuse and defuse are frequently confused. To defuse a difficult situation would be to make it less potentially explosive (as if removing the fuse from a stick of dynamite); to diffuse it would be to spread it around.

Synonyms

• forspread

Derived terms

• diffusability
• diffusable
• diffusate
• diffuseness
• diffuser
• diffusible
• diffuson
• hydrodiffuse
• interdiffuse
• nondiffuse
• outdiffuse
• overdiffuse
• rediffuse
• ultradiffuse
• undiffuse

 

Translations

(transitive) to spread over or through

• Bulgarian: разпръсвам (bg) (razprǎsvam), разсейвам (bg) (razsejvam), разпространявам (bg) (razprostranjavam)
• Catalan: difondre (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 扩散 (zh) (kuòsàn), 渗出 (zh) (shènchū)

• Danish: diffus
• Finnish: levittää (fi), hajottaa (fi)
• French: diffuser (fr)
• German: diffundieren (de)
• Hungarian: szór (hu), szétszór (hu), szétterít (hu), terjeszt (hu), áraszt (hu)
• Ido: difuzar (io)
• Irish: idirleath
• Maori: tūrererere, tūringiringi
• Middle English: toscheden
• Norwegian: diffundere
• Portuguese: difundir (pt)
• Russian: рассе́ивать (ru) impf (rasséivatʹ), рассе́ять (ru) pf (rasséjatʹ), распространя́ть (ru) impf (rasprostranjátʹ), распространи́ть (ru) pf (rasprostranítʹ)
• Swedish: diffundera (sv)
• Tagalog: ikalat
• Vietnamese: khuếch tán (vi), lan toả

(intransitive) to be spread over or through

• Bulgarian: разпръсвам се (razprǎsvam se), разсейвам се (razsejvam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 被扩散, 使渗出

• Finnish: levitä (fi), hajota (fi), hajaantua (fi), (science) diffundoitua
• French: se diffuser (fr)
• German: diffundieren (de)
• Hungarian: terjed (hu), árad (hu), szóródik (hu), szétszóródik (hu), szétterjed (hu)
• Maori: kona
• Norwegian: diffundere
• Portuguese: difundir (pt)
• Russian: рассе́иваться (ru) impf (rasséivatʹsja), рассе́яться (ru) pf (rasséjatʹsja), распространя́ться (ru) impf (rasprostranjátʹsja), распространи́ться (ru) pf (rasprostranítʹsja)
• Swedish: diffundera (sv)
• Tagalog: kumalat

Etymology 2

From Middle English *diffuse (attested in adverb diffuseli), from Latin diffūsus.

Pronunciation

• enPR: dĭfyo͞os'
• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfjuːs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfjus/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːs

Adjective

diffuse (comparative more diffuse, superlative most diffuse)

1. Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.

   Such a diffuse effort is unlikely to produce good results.

2. Wordy; verbose.

Synonyms

• (not concentrated): spread out, thin; see also Thesaurus:diffuse
• (verbose): palaverous, prolix; see also Thesaurus:verbose

Derived terms

• diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis
• diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• diffusely
• diffuse parenchymal lung disease
• ultra-diffuse

 

Translations

not focused or concentrated

• Bulgarian: дифузен (bg) (difuzen), разсеян (bg) (razsejan)
• Catalan: difús
• Danish: diffus, uklar
• Finnish: hajaantunut (fi), hajanainen (fi), lavea (fi), (science) diffuusi
• French: diffus (fr)
• German: diffus (de)
• Hungarian: diffúz (hu), szórt (hu), szétszórt (hu)
• Irish: idirleata
• Italian: diffuso (it)
• Maori: horahora
• Norwegian: diffus (no)
• Portuguese: difuso (pt)
• Spanish: difuso (es)
• Swedish: diffus (sv)
• Turkish: dağınık (tr)

wordy, verbose — see also wordy,‎ verbose

• Hungarian: terjengős (hu)

Related terms

• diffusion

References

• “diffuse”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Duffies

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.fyz/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

diffuse

1. inflection of diffuser:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Adjective

diffuse

1. feminine singular of diffus

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

diffuse

1. inflection of diffus:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /difˈfu.ze/
• Rhymes: -uze
• Hyphenation: dif‧fù‧se

Etymology 1

Verb

diffuse

1. third-person singular past historic of diffondere

Etymology 2

Participle

diffuse f pl

1. feminine plural of diffuso

Adjective

diffuse

1. feminine plural of diffuso

Latin

Etymology

From diffūsus (“scattered, spread”).

Adverb

diffūsē (comparative diffūsius, superlative diffūsissimē)

1. diffusely, in a scattered manner.
2. copiously, fully

Related terms

• diffūsus

References

• “diffuse”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, 1st edition. (Oxford University Press)

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

diffuse

1. definite singular of diffus
2. plural of diffus

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

diffuse

1. definite singular of diffus
2. plural of diffus