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PlainSpell

diffuse

/dɪˈfjuz/verb, adjective

diffuse is spelled D-I-F-F-U-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “defuse vs diffuse” about 1,900 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, diffuse means “To spread (something) over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in diffuse?

Letters7: D-I-F-F-U-S-E
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.9 times per million words; the 20,101st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is diffuse?

Diffuse appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce diffuse?

  • UK /dɪˈfjuːz/
  • US /dɪˈfjuz/

As an adjective (“Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or…”): /dɪˈfjuːs/, /dɪˈfjus/, /ˈdɪfjuːs/.

Diffuse has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-diffuse-verb.ogg, En-us-diffuse-adjective.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with diffuse

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

defuse vs diffuse1,900 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with diffuse?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as diffuse from its last stressed vowel (/uz/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of diffuse

  • diffuses present, singular, he/she/it
  • diffusing participle, present
  • diffused participle, past
  • more diffuse comparative
  • most diffuse superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does diffuse mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To spread (something) over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means.

    The small window diffuses light throughout the room.

  2. 2

    To be spread over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means.

    Food coloring diffuses in water.

adjective

  1. 1

    Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated.

    Such a diffuse effort is unlikely to produce good results.

  2. 2

    Wordy; verbose.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Diffuse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdiffuser ((transitive) to spread over or through), se diffuser ((intransitive) to be spread over or through), diffus (not focused or concentrated)
Germandiffundieren ((transitive) to spread over or through), diffus (not focused or concentrated)
Portuguesedifundir ((transitive) to spread over or through), difuso (not focused or concentrated)
Spanishdifuso (not focused or concentrated)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does diffuse come from?

From Middle French diffuser, from Latin diffūsus, past participle of diffundere, from dis- + fundere.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after diffuse