diffuse
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: diffusé
English
[edit ]Etymology 1
[edit ]From Middle French diffuser , from Latin diffūsus , past participle of diffundere , from dis- + fundere .
Pronunciation
[edit ]- enPR: dĭfyo͞oz'
- (UK ) IPA (key): /dɪˈfjuːz/
- (US ) IPA (key): /dɪˈfjuz/
- Rhymes: -uːz
- Homophone: defuse
Verb
[edit ]diffuse (third-person singular simple present diffuses , present participle diffusing , simple past and past participle diffused )
- (transitive ) To spread (something) over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means.
- The small window diffuses light throughout the room.
- Ideas are easily diffused with the help of technology.
- 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.
- (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
[edit ]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
[edit ]Derived terms
[edit ]Translations
[edit ](transitive) to spread over or through
- Bulgarian: разпръсвам (bg) (razprǎsvam), разсейвам (bg) (razsejvam), разпространявам (bg) (razprostranjavam)
- Catalan: difondre (ca)
- Chinese:
- 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
- Māori: 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
- Welsh: tryledu
(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- Bulgarian: разпръсвам се (razprǎsvam se), разсейвам се (razsejvam se)
- Chinese:
- 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)
- Māori: 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
- Welsh: tryledu
Etymology 2
[edit ]From Middle English *diffuse (attested in adverb diffuseli ), from Latin diffūsus .
Pronunciation
[edit ]Adjective
[edit ]diffuse (comparative more diffuse, superlative most diffuse)
- Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.
- Such a diffuse effort is unlikely to produce good results.
- diffuse activity of the prefrontal cortex
- Wordy; verbose.
Synonyms
[edit ]- (not concentrated): spread out , thin ; see also Thesaurus:diffuse
- (verbose): palaverous , prolix ; see also Thesaurus:verbose
Derived terms
[edit ]Translations
[edit ]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 (fi)
- French: diffus (fr)
- German: diffus (de)
- Hungarian: diffúz (hu) , szórt (hu) , szétszórt (hu)
- Indonesian: difus
- Irish: idirleata
- Italian: diffuso (it)
- Macedonian: распрснат m (rasprsnat), дифузен m (difuzen)
- Māori: horahora
- Norwegian: diffus (no)
- Portuguese: difuso (pt)
- Spanish: difuso (es)
- Swedish: diffus (sv)
- Turkish: dağınık (tr)
Related terms
[edit ]References
[edit ]- ^ Hurd, Seth P. (1847), "Diffuse", in "False Pronunciation", in A Grammatical Corrector; or, A Vocabulary of the Common Errors of Speech[1] , Philadelphia: E. H. Butler & Co, →OCLC, page 80.
Further reading
[edit ]- "diffuse", in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
[edit ]French
[edit ]Pronunciation
[edit ]Verb
[edit ]diffuse
- inflection of diffuser :
Adjective
[edit ]diffuse
German
[edit ]Pronunciation
[edit ]Adjective
[edit ]diffuse
- inflection of diffus :
Italian
[edit ]Pronunciation
[edit ]Etymology 1
[edit ]Verb
[edit ]diffuse
Etymology 2
[edit ]Participle
[edit ]diffuse f pl
Adjective
[edit ]diffuse
Latin
[edit ]Etymology
[edit ]From diffūsus ("scattered, spread").
Adverb
[edit ]diffūsē (comparative diffūsius , superlative diffūsissimē )
Related terms
[edit ]References
[edit ]- "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
[edit ]Adjective
[edit ]diffuse
Norwegian Nynorsk
[edit ]Adjective
[edit ]diffuse
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Categories:
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- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵhewd-
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