defuse

verb de·fuse \ (ˌ)dē-ˈfyüz \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Examples: defuse in a Sentence

Editor's Note: defuse or diffuse?

Definition of defuse

transitive verb

1 : to remove the fuse from (a mine, a bomb. etc.)

2 : to make less harmful, potent, or tense

defuse a crisis

See defuse defined for English-language learners

Examples of defuse in a Sentence

Skilled negotiators helped defuse the crisis.

Recent Examples of defuse from the Web

In his final inning, Anderson defused the Dodgers without much incident.

— andy mccullough, latimes.com, "Rockies stifle Dodgers' bats despite solid outing from pitcher Rich Hill in 3-1 loss," 30 June 2018
But in a clear sign that the conflict had been postponed rather than defused, Ms. Merkel said any decision made by Mr. Seehofer without her agreement—even in two weeks—would constitute a challenge to her authority.

— bojan pancevski, WSJ, "Merkel’s Government Avoids Collapse Over Migrant Battle, at Least for Now," 18 June 2018
At the time, Ratigan said he trains bail agents to be less confrontational and to try to defuse what is already a stressful situation.

— ruth brown, idahostatesman, "2 Idaho bounty hunters accused of impersonating police, then arrested by real officers," 7 June 2018
In a deft maneuver, Rosenstein may have defused Trump's fury for now by asking the department's inspector general to look into the President's claim.

— stephen collinson, CNN, "Trump's norm-breaking is leading to a constitutional fight," 22 May 2018
China'ss government has renewed its threat to scrap deals with Washington aimed at defusing a sprawling trade dispute as the White House prepares to release a list of Chinese goods targeted for tariff hikes.

— ken thomas and paul wiseman, chicagotribune.com, "U.S. announces tariffs on $50B in China imports," 15 June 2018
The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in February shone a spotlight on the role that international sports competitions can play in defusing tensions between nations.

— Time, "Son Heung-min Wants to Bring World Cup Glory to South Korea," 7 June 2018
The move appeared aimed at defusing popular anger over planned tax hikes that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in the capital Amman and other parts of Jordan since last week.

— suleiman al-khalidi and ellen francis, The Christian Science Monitor, "Jordan's king appoints a new PM amid widespread unrest over tax hikes," 4 June 2018
The Federal Reserve is proposing to ease a rule aimed at defusing the kind of risk-taking on Wall Street that helped trigger the 2008 financial meltdown.

— marcy gordon, USA TODAY, "Fed proposes easing Volcker rule that limits risky bank trading," 30 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'defuse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

defuse or diffuse?

Many people find it difficult to remember the difference between defuse and diffuse, and when faced with the need for one of these words simply grab whichever one first comes to mind. But it needn’t be this way: the meanings of these two are quite a bit different, and there is a simple way to differentiate between them. Defuse is formed by adding the prefix de- to the word fuse; you are removing the fuse (either literally or figuratively) when you defuse a situation, much as defanging something entails removing the fangs. Diffuse, when used as a verb, tends to carry meanings such as “spread” or “scatter.” Additionally, diffuse is the only one which may be found used as an adjective.

First Known Use of defuse

1943

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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DEFUSE Defined for English Language Learners

defuse

verb

Definition of defuse for English Language Learners

: to make (something) less serious, difficult, or tense
: to remove the part of (an explosive) that makes it explode : to remove the fuse from (an explosive)