suffuse

verb

suf·​fuse sə-ˈfyüz 

suffused; suffusing

transitive verb

: to spread over or through in the manner of fluid or light : flush, fill

the northern horizon was suffused with a deep red glow

—P. M. Leschak

suffusion

sə-ˈfyü-zhən 

noun

suffusive

sə-ˈfyü-siv 

-ziv

adjective

Did you know?

The Latin word suffendere, ancestor to suffuse by way of Latin suffūsus, has various meanings that shed light on our modern word, among them "to pour on or in (as an addition)" and "to fill with a liquid, color, or light that wells up from below." It’s no surprise, then, that suffuse refers to the action of fluid or light spreading over or through something, as when light fills a dark room when you crack open a door. Suffundere is a blend of the prefix sub- ("under" or "beneath") and the verb fundere ("to pour" or "to send forth"). Other English verbs related to fundere continue the theme of pouring or spreading: diffuse ("to pour out and spread freely"), effuse ("to pour or flow out"), transfuse ("to cause to pass from one to another"), and the verb fuse itself when it's used to mean "to meld or join."

Synonyms

• endue
• indue
• imbue
• inculcate
• infuse
• ingrain
• engrain
• inoculate
• invest
• steep

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of suffuse in a Sentence

Morning light suffused the room.

she was suffused with an overwhelming feeling of liberation as her horse broke into a gallop

Recent Examples on the Web

Last year’s shows were suffused with themes of mortality, and that carried over on Thursday, in moments that felt even more poignant in a light of a new loss: Springsteen’s mother, Adele, died earlier this year. —Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024

Read: Eight books that will take you somewhere new O Pioneers!, by Willa Cather This novel, set in the closing decades of the 19th century and suffused with the wide-open lushness of the Nebraska prairie, practically demands to be read in the open air. —Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2024

For Besson, the ordinary is suffused with sufficient strangeness. —Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024

Her films, although typically set in or near the present day, are suffused with an almost primordial air of fairy-tale enchantment. —Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024

Although Vampire Weekend’s members have settled in Los Angeles, its new album is suffused with thoughts of 20th-century New York City. —Jon Pareles, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024

Every line is just so funny but yet suffused with all this meaning and weight. —Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024

American to the core but reminiscent of long-ago European saints: self-scourging, infected, suffering, yet suffused with an unlikely bliss. —Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

The moment when Sol is finally permitted to see her father is fleeting, piercing and suffused with the most helpless kind of love. —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin suffūsus, past participle of suffundere "to pour on or in (as an addition), cause (a liquid, color, light) to well up or rise to the surface, fill with a liquid, color or light that wells up from below," from suf-, assimilated form of sub- sub- + fundere "to pour, shed, cast, send forth, disperse" — more at found entry 5

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

suffuse

verb

suf·​fuse sə-ˈfyüz 

suffused; suffusing

: to spread over or through in the manner of fluid or light

suffusion

-ˈfyü-zhən 

noun

suffusive

-ˈfyü-siv 

-ziv

adjective

Medical Definition

suffuse

transitive verb

suf·​fuse sə-ˈfyüz 

suffused; suffusing

: to flush or spread over or through in the manner of a fluid and especially blood