defuse

verb de·fuse \ (ˌ)dē-ˈfyüz \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 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

Explosive experts in Germany have successfully defused a British world war two bomb found in Frankfurt last week.

— Houston Chronicle, "Mystifying mood swings happen without warning," 1 June 2018
Suspense defused: Commander Waterford survived the blast.

— rena gross, Billboard, "12 Big Revelations From 'Handmaid's Tale' Season 2, Episode 7," 30 May 2018
Kind sees it as part of her job to defuse tense situations and respond to customers without judgment.

— NBC News, "As Starbucks closes for bias training, black-owned coffee shops open their doors wider," 29 May 2018
Hope for defusing a longstanding nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula was raised in March when South Korean officials said Kim was open to negotiations over his nuclear weapons and Trump agreed to meet Kim.

— robert burns, Fox News, "Pentagon report: Nukes are central to North Korea strategy," 22 May 2018
The Wall Street Journal suggests the move could be an effort to defuse trade tensions with the US.

— megan geuss, Ars Technica, "China to ease foreign automaker rules—with preference for electric cars," 18 Apr. 2018
The Revolution’s offensive forays were easily defused by an Atlanta back line led by former Revolution star Michael Parkhurst and a midfield sparked by Jeff Larentowicz, another former Revolution starter.

— frank dell’apa, BostonGlobe.com, "Revolution get late goal to tie Atlanta," 31 May 2018
Springfield Police Department officers, who are always on duty for home games, reacted quickly and professionally to defuse the situation in a timely manner.

— gary bedore, kansascity, "KU baseball players leave dugout during spat at Missouri State game | The Kansas City Star," 3 May 2018
In the end, a row of 13 big-rig truck drivers remained in place under the overpass for several hours until the situation was safely defused and the man was escorted by police to a nearby hospital.

— christina capatides, CBS News, "13 truckers came together to save a suicidal man," 25 Apr. 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)