defuse
verb
Did you know?
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.
Examples of defuse in a Sentence
Edward Wong, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024
The release is aimed at defusing political tensions that have ratcheted up since Sall last month postponed the vote that was originally scheduled for Feb. 25.
—Katarina Hoije, Bloomberg.com, 15 Mar. 2024
This could help defuse many of the rumors and speculation in the media and internet that tends to come hand in hand with a volcanic crisis.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
When a British aircraft carrier is attacked and the attacker is unclear, Michael McKean’s President Rayburn sends Russell’s character, Kate Wyler, to London against her wishes to defuse a situation that could quickly escalate into a world war.
—Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024
The group noted that Dukes had been a civil engineer who had worked in Iraq with a defense contractor, defusing bombs then later as a radiological emergency response team leader.
—Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2024
Police later confirmed on X that the grenade was safely defused.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN, 17 Mar. 2024
Security has become a catchall term for the Chinese leadership’s obsession with defusing threats to China’s rise — especially from the United States.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
Jones has since backtracked in an effort to defuse speculation or provide clarity.
—USA TODAY, 13 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defuse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1943, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Defuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defuse. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on defuse
Nglish: Translation of defuse for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of defuse for Arabic Speakers
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