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
Ségolène Le Stradic, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2024
United Methodist delegates have overwhelmingly endorsed a constitutional amendment seen by advocates as a way of defusing debates over the role of LGBTQ people in the church by giving rule-making autonomy to each region of the international church.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
More than 100 students were arrested at Columbia University last week, and the prestigious university has decided to cancel in-person classes in an attempt to defuse tensions.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 24 Apr. 2024
But before things get too disastrous, Roger (David Alan Grier) appears and magically defuses the situation.
—Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Jan. 2024
The move was intended to defuse growing pressure in Congress.
—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
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Defuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defuse. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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