diffuse vs defuse

Definitions

adjective

1. spread out; not concentrated in one place
2. lacking conciseness
3. (of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected

verb

1. move outward
2. spread or diffuse through
3. cause to become widely known

Examples

First, it moves a great deal of diffuse wealth and concentrates it in the hands of the war industry.

They will learn more about Churchill than from this diffuse, badly edited book.

But the mood has been building for several years, diffused through a host of single issue campaigns, through numerous signs of dissent and discontentment.

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Definitions

verb

1. remove the triggering device from

Examples

Although tensions existed between the army and the group, the president defused them by playing the politics of tribalism and regionalism, often targeting northerners as the source of the nation's problems.

It helped her defuse a life-threatening situation in the Himalayas, when she and her friends were confronted by knife-carrying attackers.

Training crossing guards to spot and defuse volatile situations is one of the options being explored.

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