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diffusion

1 antonym for diffusion — opposites grouped by meaning.

Noun — The movement of particles from a region where they are more concentrated to one where they are less concentrated, until they are evenly spread out.

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The movement of particles from a region where they are more concentrated to one where they are less concentrated, until they are evenly spread out.

“Oxygen passes from the lungs into the blood by diffusion.”

Opposites

2. noun

The gradual spread of an idea, technology, custom or practice through a population or from one culture to another.

“The diffusion of smartphones through rural markets took barely a decade.”

Antonyms

How to use diffusion

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

simple diffusion facilitated diffusion rate of diffusion diffusion of innovation

Neutral; core vocabulary in biology, chemistry, physics, sociology and photography.

Etymology

From Latin diffundere 'to pour out, spread', formed from dis- 'apart' and fundere 'to pour'.

Full origin of diffusion →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between diffusion and osmosis?
Diffusion is any substance spreading from high to low concentration. Osmosis is the special case of water moving across a semi-permeable membrane towards the side with more dissolved solute. All osmosis is a kind of diffusion, but most diffusion is not osmosis.
What is the difference between diffusion and effusion?
Diffusion is one gas spreading through another or through a space. Effusion is a gas escaping through a tiny hole into a vacuum. Both depend on molecular speed, so lighter molecules do each of them faster.
Does diffusion need energy?
No. It is a passive process driven by the random motion of particles, so it needs no energy input from the cell or system — unlike active transport, which does.

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Synonyms and antonyms from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.