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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

diffuse en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • /dɪˈfjuz/ (US)
  • (US) audio
  • dĭfyo͞oz'
  • /dɪˈfjuːz/ (UK)

Etymology

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

Meanings

  1. (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.
    • 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. 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:
  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.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
diffuses Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
diffused Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
diffused Tense=Past lexicographic
diffusing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Deriveds

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

Synonyms

forspread

Translations (57)

vi lan toả ((transitive) to spread over or through) · mi tūrererere ((transitive) to spread over or through) · io difuzar ((transitive) to spread over or through) · hu áraszt ((transitive) to spread over or through) · cmn 渗出 ((transitive) to spread over or through) · hu szóródik ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · fr se diffuser ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · tl kumalat ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · cmn 被扩散 ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · fi levittää ((transitive) to spread over or through) · cmn 使渗出 ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · cy tryledu ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · hu szétterít ((transitive) to spread over or through) · pt difundir ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · vi khuếch tán ((transitive) to spread over or through) · fi levitä ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · hu árad ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · de diffundieren ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · mi tūringiringi ((transitive) to spread over or through) · sv diffundera ((transitive) to spread over or through) · fr diffuser ((transitive) to spread over or through) · da diffus ((transitive) to spread over or through) · tl ikalat ((transitive) to spread over or through) · ru распространя́ть ((transitive) to spread over or through) · bg разсейвам се ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · bg разсейвам ((transitive) to spread over or through) · hu terjed ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · fi hajaantua ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · bg разпръсвам се ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · bg разпространявам ((transitive) to spread over or through) · ru рассе́ивать ((transitive) to spread over or through) · ru распространи́ться ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · no diffundere ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · fi diffundoitua ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · bg разпръсвам ((transitive) to spread over or through) · ca difondre ((transitive) to spread over or through) · hu terjeszt ((transitive) to spread over or through) · ru рассе́иваться ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · ru распространи́ть ((transitive) to spread over or through) · hu szétszóródik ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · ga idirleath ((transitive) to spread over or through) · cmn 扩散 ((transitive) to spread over or through) · hu szétszór ((transitive) to spread over or through) · de diffundieren ((transitive) to spread over or through) · mi kona ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · ru рассе́яться ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · fi hajota ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · sv diffundera ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · enm toscheden ((transitive) to spread over or through) · cy tryledu ((transitive) to spread over or through) · pt difundir ((transitive) to spread over or through) · ru распространя́ться ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · ru рассе́ять ((transitive) to spread over or through) · fi hajottaa ((transitive) to spread over or through) · no diffundere ((transitive) to spread over or through) · hu szétterjed ((intransitive) to be spread over or through) · hu szór ((transitive) to spread over or through)

diffuse en · ADJ · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • dĭfyo͞os'
  • /ˈdɪfjuːs/ (obsolete)
  • dĭf'yo͞os (obsolete)
  • /dɪˈfjuːs/ (UK)
  • /dɪˈfjus/ (US)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

  1. Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.
    • diffuse activity of the prefrontal cortex
    • Such a diffuse effort is unlikely to produce good results.
  2. Wordy; verbose.
    • An author who produced over fifty books and innumerable articles on all kinds of subjects could not be a philosopher of the first rank. He was also a bad writer: his principal work is diffuse, chaotic, vague, and repetitive. 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 434:
    • '[…] A short account of myself, I believe, will be necessary, and it shall be a short one. On such a subject,' sighing heavily, 'I can have little temptation to be diffuse.' 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XXXI, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume III, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
most diffuse Degree=Sup lexicographic
more diffuse Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Antonyms

dense · compact

Deriveds

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

Hyponyms

few and far between · shattery · rarefied · rare

Relateds

diffusion · nebulous

Synonyms

dispersed · palaverous (verbose) · spread out (not concentrated) · uncompact · prolix · thin · noncompact · loose · scattered · sparse · diffuse · spaced out · incompact

Translations (26)

hu szórt (not focused or concentrated) · fi hajaantunut (not focused or concentrated) · id difus (not focused or concentrated) · mk дифузен (not focused or concentrated) · bg разсеян (not focused or concentrated) · fi diffuusi (not focused or concentrated) · it diffuso (not focused or concentrated) · sv diffus (not focused or concentrated) · ga idirleata (not focused or concentrated) · es difuso (not focused or concentrated) · mk распрснат (not focused or concentrated) · bg дифузен (not focused or concentrated) · da diffus (not focused or concentrated) · hu terjengős (wordy, verbose) · pt difuso (not focused or concentrated) · ca difús (not focused or concentrated) · de diffus (not focused or concentrated) · hu szétszórt (not focused or concentrated) · tr dağınık (not focused or concentrated) · fi hajanainen (not focused or concentrated) · mi horahora (not focused or concentrated) · no diffus (not focused or concentrated) · fi lavea (not focused or concentrated) · hu diffúz (not focused or concentrated) · fr diffus (not focused or concentrated) · da uklar (not focused or concentrated)