diffuse

¹dif·fuse

adj \di-ˈfyüs\

Definition of DIFFUSE

1

: being at once verbose and ill-organized <a diffuse report from the scene of the earthquake>

2

: not concentrated or localized <diffuse lighting>

— dif·fuse·ly adverb

— dif·fuse·ness noun

Examples of DIFFUSE

1. The forest was filled with a soft, diffuse light.
2. <a diffuse speech that took a great deal of time to make a very small point>

Origin of DIFFUSE

Middle English, from Latin diffusus, past participle of diffundere to spread out, from dis- + fundere to pour — more at found

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to DIFFUSE

Synonyms: circuitous, circumlocutory, wordy, garrulous, logorrheic, long-winded, pleonastic, prolix, rambling, verbose, windy

Antonyms: compact, concise, crisp, pithy, succinct, terse

Related Words: chatty, communicative, conversational, gabby, loquacious, talkative, talky, voluble; periphrastic; redundant, repetitious, tautological, tautologous; embellished, embroidered, exaggerated; bombastic, gaseous, gassy, grandiloquent, highfalutin (also hifalutin)

Near Antonyms: brief, short; aphoristic, epigrammatic, sententious; compendious, summary; abbreviated, abridged, condensed, shortened; abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), curt, laconic, snippy

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See Synonym Discussion at wordy

Rhymes with DIFFUSE

Aarhus, abstruse, abuse, adduce, Atreus, blue spruce, burnoose, caboose, Cayuse, Cepheus, ceruse, charmeuse, chartreuse, Chartreuse, conduce, couscous, cut loose, deduce, disuse, educe, effuse, excuse, fair use, footloose, hang loose, induce, Lanús, misuse, mongoose, Morpheus, negus, obtuse, Orpheus, papoose, Peleus, Perseus, prepuce, produce, profuse, Proteus, Purus, recluse, red spruce, reduce, refuse, retuse, reuse, Sanctus, seduce, slip noose, snow goose, Tereus, Theseus, traduce, transduce, turn loose, unloose, vamoose