Diffuse
[dɪ'fjuːz] or [dɪ'fjus]
Definition
(verb.) move outward; 'The soldiers fanned out'.
(adj.) spread out; not concentrated in one place; 'a large diffuse organization' .
(adj.) lacking conciseness; 'a diffuse historical novel' .
Typed by Aldo--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To pour out and cause to spread, as a fluid; to cause to flow on all sides; to send out, or extend, in all directions; to spread; to circulate; to disseminate; to scatter; as to diffuse information.
(v. i.) To pass by spreading every way, to diffuse itself.
(a.) Poured out; widely spread; not restrained; copious; full; esp., of style, opposed to concise or terse; verbose; prolix; as, a diffuse style; a diffuse writer.
Editor: Peter
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Disperse, scatter, disseminate, spread, circulate, propagate, distribute, pour out, send abroad, spread abroad.
a. Prolix, copious, rambling, loose, verbose, wordy, diffusive, long-winded, long-spun, spun out.
Checker: Roland
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Discursive, prolix, verbose, diluted, copious
ANT:Laconic, epigrammatic, terse, condensed
Checker: Newman
Definition
adj. diffused: widely spread: wordy: not concise.—adv. Diffuse′ly.—n. Diffuse′ness.
v.t. to pour out all round: to send out in all directions: to scatter: to circulate: to publish.—v.i. to spread as a liquid does.—pa.p. and adj. Diffused′ spread widely: loose.—adv. Diffus′edly.—ns. Diffus′edness; Diffus′er; Diffusibil′ity.—adj. Diffus′ible that may be diffused.—ns. Diffū′sion a spreading or scattering abroad: extension: distribution: in the case of gases or liquids in contact mixture through each other; Diffū′sion-tube an instrument for determining the rate of diffusion for different gases.—adj. Diffus′ive extending: spreading widely.—adv. Diffus′ively.—n. Diffus′iveness.
Typist: Veronica
Examples
- The paper was first dipped into a solution of common salt, and then wiped dry, to diffuse the salt uniformly through the substance of the paper. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Nor does the thin atmosphere refract the sun's rays or diffuse its light as upon Earth. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- One can imagine a more and more diffuse state of the nebulous matter. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Flora, who had seemed enchanting in all she said and thought, was diffuse and silly. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- They ranged from a faint trace of extensive diffuse nebulosity to a nebulous star with a mere vestige of cloudiness. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Edison had observed the tendency of this force to diffuse itself in various directions through the air and through matter, hence the name Etheric that he had provisionally applied to it. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- It was something diffuse and generalised about him, which she could not stand. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Let (A) be a common, widely-diffused, and varying species, belonging to a genus large in its own country. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- They were neither so abundant nor so civilized as the still more widely diffused Greeks, but they had a tradition of greater solidarity. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- This haziness is occasioned by the great quantity of moisture equally diffused in that air. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- This matter of lightning or of electricity is an extreme subtile fluid, penetrating other bodies, and subsisting in them, equally diffused. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- The presence of Safie diffused happiness among its inhabitants; and I also found that a greater degree of plenty reigned there. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- We have, also, seen that the species, which are the commonest and most widely-diffused, vary more than do the rare and restricted species. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Under all conditions the light is properly screened and diffused to suit the critical eye of the camera man. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- That's my manner of diffusing 'em. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- She could not figure herself as anywhere but in a drawing-room, diffusing elegance as a flower sheds perfume. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible; its broad disk just skirting the horizon, and diffusing a perpetual splendour. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- But the most common species of love is that which first arises from beauty, and afterwards diffuses itself into kindness and into the bodily appetite. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
Typist: Theodore