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."
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 WebThat embrace of the founder myth suffuses Elon Musk, Schwartz’s analysis of which is both surgical and undeniable.—Longreads, 15 Mar. 2024 The movie, about two cousins sharing an apartment in Istanbul, was an odd-couple comedy in a wistful key, suffused with a bone-deep sense of alienation—social, economic, spiritual—that has haunted his films ever since.—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2024 Entertainment & Arts By exploring L.A.’s racial injustice, Luis Valdez’s ‘Zoot Suit’ gave birth to Chicano theater
June 2, 2023
Jackson’s ideals suffused the L.A. community where she was raised.—Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2024 From medieval sailors buried beneath the cobblestone streets in Visby to the ruins of Norse shipyards where longboats were built 1,000 years ago, ancient maritime lore suffuses the island.—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 18 Feb. 2024 Sessa also has a winking quality, a mischievous glint in his eye that suffuses Angus with a natural humor.—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2023 All matter was suffused by a single, infinite, and self-knowing motion.—Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024 For the five pregnant women interviewed by Washington Post reporters, fear that mother or baby might not survive suffused their waking thoughts — and made appearances in nightmares, too.—Hajar Harb, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2024 It’s suffused with much the same melancholic dread that colored that elegant 2008 vampire hit, but a much more elliptical approach to narrative.—Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'suffuse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
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