diffuse

Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.

Adjective

  1. Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.
    • Such a diffuse effort is unlikely to produce good results.
    • diffuse activity of the prefrontal cortex
  2. Wordy; verbose.

Origin

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

Forms

more diffuse most diffuse

Synonyms

spread out thin palaverous prolix diffuse dispersed incompact loose noncompact scattered spaced out sparse uncompact

Antonyms

compact dense

Hyponyms

few and far between rare rarefied shattery

Related

diffusion nebulous

Derived

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

Verb

  1. 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...
  2. 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.

Origin

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

Forms

diffuses diffusing diffused

Synonyms

forspread

Derived

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