Meanings
diffuse1
present singular third person diffuses · participle present diffusing · participle past diffused · past diffused
- transitiveTo 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.
2 more examples
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
diffuse2
comparative more diffuse · superlative most diffuse
- Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.
diffuse activity of the prefrontal cortex
1 more example
Such a diffuse effort is unlikely to produce good results.
Synonyms: spread out
- Wordy; verbose.
'[…] 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, […], →OCLC1 more example
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 434Synonyms: palaverous
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveEverywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.
adjectiveWordy; verbose.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivespread out; not concentrated in one place
verbspread or diffuse through
verbcause to become widely known
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
diffuse · verb
- Latindiffūsus
- Middle Frenchdiffuser
- Englishdiffuse
From Middle French diffuser, from Latin diffūsus, past participle of diffundere, from dis- + fundere.
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →diffuse · adjective
- Latindiffūsus
- Middle English*diffuse
- Englishdiffuse
From Middle English *diffuse (attested in adverb diffuseli), from Latin diffūsus.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian разпръсвам се, разсейвам се
- разпръсвам се (razprăsvam se)(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- разсейвам се (razsejvam se)(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- разпръсвам (razprăsvam)(transitive) to spread over or through
- разсейвам (razsejvam)(transitive) to spread over or through
- разпространявам (razprostranjavam)(transitive) to spread over or through
- дифузен (difuzen)not focused or concentrated
- разсеян (razsejan)not focused or concentrated
Catalan difondre, difús
- difondre(transitive) to spread over or through
- difúsnot focused or concentrated
Chinese Mandarin 被扩散, 使渗出
- 被扩散(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- 使渗出(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- 扩散 (kuòsàn)(transitive) to spread over or through
- 渗出 (shènchū)(transitive) to spread over or through
Danish diffus, diffus
- diffus(transitive) to spread over or through
- diffusnot focused or concentrated
- uklarnot focused or concentrated
Finnish levitä, hajota
- levitä(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- hajota(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- hajaantua(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- diffundoitua(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- levittää(transitive) to spread over or through
- hajottaa(transitive) to spread over or through
- hajaantunutnot focused or concentrated
- hajanainennot focused or concentrated
- laveanot focused or concentrated
- diffuusinot focused or concentrated
French se diffuser, diffuser
- se diffuser(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- diffuser(transitive) to spread over or through
- diffusnot focused or concentrated
German diffundieren, diffundieren
- diffundieren(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- diffundieren(transitive) to spread over or through
- diffusnot focused or concentrated
Hungarian terjed, árad
- terjed(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- árad(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- szóródik(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- szétszóródik(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- szétterjed(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- szór(transitive) to spread over or through
- szétszór(transitive) to spread over or through
- szétterít(transitive) to spread over or through
- terjeszt(transitive) to spread over or through
- áraszt(transitive) to spread over or through
- diffúznot focused or concentrated
- szórtnot focused or concentrated
- szétszórtnot focused or concentrated
- terjengőswordy, verbose
Indonesian difus
- difusnot focused or concentrated
Irish idirleath, idirleata
- idirleath(transitive) to spread over or through
- idirleatanot focused or concentrated
Italian diffuso
- diffusonot focused or concentrated
Māori kona, tūrererere
- kona(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- tūrererere(transitive) to spread over or through
- tūringiringi(transitive) to spread over or through
- horahoranot focused or concentrated
Norwegian diffundere, diffundere
- diffundere(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- diffundere(transitive) to spread over or through
- diffusnot focused or concentrated
Portuguese difundir, difundir
- difundir(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- difundir(transitive) to spread over or through
- difusonot focused or concentrated
Russian рассе́иваться, рассе́яться
- рассе́иваться (rasséivatʹsja)(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- рассе́яться (rasséjatʹsja)(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- распространя́ться (rasprostranjátʹsja)(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- распространи́ться (rasprostranítʹsja)(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- рассе́ивать (rasséivatʹ)(transitive) to spread over or through
- рассе́ять (rasséjatʹ)(transitive) to spread over or through
- распространя́ть (rasprostranjátʹ)(transitive) to spread over or through
- распространи́ть (rasprostranítʹ)(transitive) to spread over or through
Spanish difuso
- difusonot focused or concentrated
Swedish diffundera, diffundera
- diffundera(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- diffundera(transitive) to spread over or through
- diffusnot focused or concentrated
Tagalog kumalat, ikalat
- kumalat(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- ikalat(transitive) to spread over or through
Turkish dağınık
- dağınıknot focused or concentrated
Vietnamese khuếch tán, lan toả
- khuếch tán(transitive) to spread over or through
- lan toả(transitive) to spread over or through
Welsh tryledu, tryledu
- tryledu(intransitive) to be spread over or through
- tryledu(transitive) to spread over or through
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with diffuse
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
diffuse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diffuse
“diffuse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diffuse. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “diffuse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diffuse.
Source: diffuse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.