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 There are also two beverage stations on either end of the lounge, each with espresso machines, Starbucks coffee on tap, tea, infused waters, and sodas. AFAR Media, 29 Oct. 2025 It’s infused with nourishing ingredients like quinoa protein and plant butters to help strengthen and hydrate while toning unwanted warm tones. Iman Balagam, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2025 That infuses so much of the album. Chris Willman, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025 The program wouldn't be funded on a regular basis as part of the state budget — it would only be infused with state dollars when needed after a disaster, Knodl said. Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 28 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for infuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infuse
Verb
  • 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
  • His music, stuffed with live instrumentation and harmonic sophistication, is suffused with the sound and spirit of Sly Stone, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Gaye, among many others.
    Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • All the while, Yelchin, Stewart, Alia Shawkat, and Imogen Poots imbue their disparate characters with inner lives that make each successive shock that much more nerve-fraying.
    Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Yet Plemons imbues him with despair, finding a pitiful fragility in his aggression.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • According to Hamilton Lane, a firm that invests on behalf of pension funds, as of 2021 PE firms were still holding 45% of their buyout deals five years following their purchase; last year, around 65% were still sitting unsold after a half-decade.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2025
  • And a new trade deal reached with Lee would see South Korea invest billions of dollars in the US, including in shipbuilding, aerospace and technology, according to the White House.
    Helen Regan, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Infuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infuse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.

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