Synonym Chooser

How does the verb suffuse differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of suffuse are imbue, infuse, ingrain, inoculate, and leaven. While all these words mean "to introduce one thing into another so as to affect it throughout," suffuse implies a spreading through of something that gives an unusual color or quality.

a room suffused with light

When might imbue be a better fit than suffuse?

The meanings of imbue and suffuse largely overlap; however, imbue implies the introduction of a quality that fills and permeates the whole being.

imbue students with intellectual curiosity

When is it sensible to use infuse instead of suffuse?

The words infuse and suffuse can be used in similar contexts, but infuse implies a pouring in of something that gives new life or significance.

new members infused enthusiasm into the club

Where would ingrain be a reasonable alternative to suffuse?

The words ingrain and suffuse are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ingrain, used only in the passive or past participle, suggests the deep implanting of a quality or trait.

clung to ingrained habits

When can inoculate be used instead of suffuse?

In some situations, the words inoculate and suffuse are roughly equivalent. However, inoculate implies an imbuing or implanting with a germinal idea and often suggests stealth or subtlety.

an electorate inoculated with dangerous ideas

When is leaven a more appropriate choice than suffuse?

While in some cases nearly identical to suffuse, leaven implies introducing something that enlivens, tempers, or markedly alters the total quality.

a serious play leavened with comic moments

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 suffuse The film certainly steers clear of Emmerichian overdrive, but it is suffused with hopelessness — on both an intimate and an epic scale. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025 But the hot gas that suffused the space between the galaxies in each cluster would have crashed head-on. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025 His narration is a constant pleasure — mournful, wry, and suffused with a world-weary poetry. Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025 An international cult favorite, Lee is revered for the philosophical nerve that suffuses his rigorously inventive melodramas, which variously pick apart the complexities of Korean society. Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for suffuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suffuse
Verb
  • Enticed by promises to cure fatigue, soothe hangovers, and fight colds, many have flocked to intravenous (IV) hydration spas to be infused with a concoction of minerals and vitamins.
    Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 30 Oct. 2025
  • This inherent familiarity could be a big reason why infused beverages have become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the cannabis industry; the global market is projected to crack $2 billion in annual revenue by 2026.
    Chala June, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Related diseases come from isotopes in the nuclear fallout that can penetrate the human body and cause mutations in DNA, according to a 2024 paper from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Journal.
    Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
  • This play can penetrate the walls of people's homes and their personal experiences in such intimate ways.
    Esther Zuckerman, Time, 4 Nov. 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
  • Man, if the vibe of the late Sixties and the early Seventies was the pervading spirit of the day, then let peace and love win!
    Jay Glennie, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Despite its speculative premise, the series captures the loneliness that has pervaded society since the COVID pandemic and the dread of a future in which artificial intelligence might render human interaction obsolete.
    Judy Berman, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Turn on music or a podcast and fill a few spare minutes wiping down surfaces, dusting, or putting things away.
    Kelsey Mulvey, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2025
  • In a recent episode of Apple TV's The Reluctant Traveler, the Prince of Wales opened up to host Eugene Levy about the late Duke of Edinburgh’s famously sharp (and occasionally unintentional) sense of humor, recalling how much laughter filled their family gatherings.
    Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Systems thinking, which involves looking at a problem not in isolation but as part of a larger, more complex ecosystem, has also permeated both the accelerator program and the broader remit of H&M Foundation itself.
    Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Initially, physicists envisioned inflation as a cold process that involved energy fields that permeated all of space.
    Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 27 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
Verb
  • After the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newton, Conn., President Barack Obama had his then-Vice President Joe Biden meet with representatives of the video game industry to discuss whether their products somehow inculcated violence in society.
    Time, Time, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Part of the emotional appeal of Reaganism was that there were left-of-center reprimands that seemed like an insult, an effort to inculcate shame, an effort to cast American history in a way that wasn’t sufficiently celebratory.
    Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

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

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