diffuse

Universal Words adjective, verb adjective 1 spread over a wide area: diffuse light * a diffuse community 2 not clear or easy to understand; using a lot of words: a diffuse style of writing diffusely adverb diffuseness noun [U] verb 1 (formal) to spread sth or become spread widely in all directions: [VN] The problem is how to diffuse power without creating anarchy. * [V] Technologies diffuse rapidly. 2 [V, VN] (technical) if a gas or liquid diffuses or is diffused in a substance, it becomes slowly mixed with that substance 3 [VN] (formal) to make light shine less brightly by spreading it in many directions: The moon was fuller than the night before, but the light was diffused by cloud. diffusion noun [U]: the diffusion of Marxist ideas * the rate of diffusion of a gas