verb

diffuse

dih-FYOOZ

verb

To spread something out through a substance or space, or to spread out that way.

"The scent of coffee diffused through the whole house."

"Tension in the room slowly diffused after the apology."

adjective

Spread out over a wide area rather than concentrated in one place.

"The light from the overcast sky was soft and diffuse."

Wordy and rambling rather than concise.

"His writing style is diffuse and could use some tightening up."

How to Use Diffuse

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishSpread thin over a wide area, or (for writing) padded out and unfocused.

Common mistake

As a verb it is pronounced with a "z" sound (diffuze); as an adjective it is pronounced with an "s" sound (diffuce).

more diffuse comparative, diffused past tense, diffuses singular, most diffuse superlative

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Can you complete this real example?

The scent of coffee _____ through the whole house.

From Latin diffundere, "to pour out in different directions," from dis- plus fundere, "to pour."

forspread thin prolix dispersed incompact loose noncompact scattered spaced out sparse uncompact

compact dense

thin small overweight loose drunk separate stiff deep

use muse ruse fuse CuSe abuse mouse cause house louse pause amuse

forspread thin prolix dispersed incompact loose noncompact scattered spaced out sparse uncompact compact