Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

suffuse

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of suffuse

1 to cause (as a person) to become filled or saturated with a certain quality or principle
  • she was suffused with an overwhelming feeling of liberation as her horse broke into a gallop
Synonyms of suffuse

endue (or indue), imbue, inculcate, infuse, ingrain (also engrain), inoculate, invest, steep
Words Related to suffuse

animate, charge, enliven, invigorate, leaven

implant, instill, plant

impregnate, permeate, pervade, saturate

deluge, drown, fill, flood, inundate, overwhelm, submerge
Near Antonyms of suffuse

deprive, divest, strip

clear, empty

eliminate, remove, take away
2 to spread throughout
  • a living room suffused with warm sunlight
Synonyms of suffuse

interpenetrate, percolate (into), permeate, pervade, riddle, transfuse
Words Related to suffuse

diffuse (through), impregnate, pass (into), penetrate

fill (up)

drench, imbue, infuse, saturate, soak, steep

flood, glut

Synonym Discussion of suffuse

infuse, suffuse, imbue, ingrain, inoculate, leaven 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
suffuse implies a spreading through of something that gives an unusual color or quality.
    • a room suffused with light
imbue implies the introduction of a quality that fills and permeates the whole being.
    • imbue students with intellectual curiosity
ingrain, used only in the passive or past participle, suggests the deep implanting of a quality or trait.
    • clung to ingrained habits
inoculate implies an imbuing or implanting with a germinal idea and often suggests stealth or subtlety.
    • an electorate inoculated with dangerous ideas
leaven implies introducing something that enlivens, tempers, or markedly alters the total quality.
    • a serious play leavened with comic moments

Learn More about suffuse

  1. See words that rhyme with suffuse Dictionary: Definition of suffuse Medical Dictionary: Definition of suffuse Spanish Central: Translation of suffuse Nglish: Translation of suffuse for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of suffuse for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up suffuse? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

teetotaler

someone who never drinks alcohol

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. cache BuzzFeed reports on Trump-Cohen documents.

  2. intransigence, intransigent Trump cancels Davos trip.

  3. white supremacist Steve King discusses views.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games