Synonym Chooser

How does the verb infuse differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of infuse are imbue, ingrain, inoculate, leaven, and suffuse. While all these words mean "to introduce one thing into another so as to affect it throughout," infuse implies a pouring in of something that gives new life or significance.

new members infused enthusiasm into the club

When could imbue be used to replace infuse?

While the synonyms imbue and infuse are close in meaning, imbue implies the introduction of a quality that fills and permeates the whole being.

imbue students with intellectual curiosity

In what contexts can ingrain take the place of infuse?

Although the words ingrain and infuse have much in common, ingrain, used only in the passive or past participle, suggests the deep implanting of a quality or trait.

clung to ingrained habits

When is inoculate a more appropriate choice than infuse?

The meanings of inoculate and infuse largely overlap; however, inoculate implies an imbuing or implanting with a germinal idea and often suggests stealth or subtlety.

an electorate inoculated with dangerous ideas

When can leaven be used instead of infuse?

The synonyms leaven and infuse are sometimes interchangeable, but leaven implies introducing something that enlivens, tempers, or markedly alters the total quality.

a serious play leavened with comic moments

When would suffuse be a good substitute for infuse?

While in some cases nearly identical to infuse, suffuse implies a spreading through of something that gives an unusual color or quality.

a room suffused with light

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of infuse Plastination offers a fundamentally different approach, first dehydrating the wood using acetone and then infusing it with a compatible polymer. Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2025 Oreo’s brand-new Thanksgiving Dinner Inspired Cookies are fudge-coated and infused with a range of festive flavors. Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025 Oftentimes, our spaces are richer and more beautiful the more perspectives and cultures infused in them. Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Nov. 2025 Public education has remained a divisive issue in Texas as some state legislators have supported bills that would infuse religion into schools, including by requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms across the state. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for infuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infuse
Verb
  • One of the great pleasures of anime is that its unabashed, rollicky genre pieces are often suffused with grand, but not grandiose, sociopolitical commentary — a heady combination that many similar pictures can’t pull off.
    Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Smith suffuses the book with a kind of clinical detachment, even as the dread mounts with each page.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The young singer-songwriter became an interpreter of others’ works, imbuing them with a unique character missing on earlier recordings.
    Glenn Peoples, Billboard, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Among the actors, the highlight turns out to be It breakout Lillis, who imbues Carrie with a vulnerability that smoothes over some sizable gaps in the character’s development.
    Judy Berman, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • How Dark Eagle fits the global hypersonic picture Dark Eagle enters a field where several states have invested heavily.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The rocket would get off the ground from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, a site Blue Origin invested $1 billion to rebuild.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Infuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infuse. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on infuse

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