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diffuse

diffuse

8 6.4
Spread out over a large area and not in one place
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈfjus/
translation icon : difuso
  • The room was filled with a warm, diffuse light that made it feel cozy.
  • more diffuse
  • diffuse emission
  • diffuse galaxies

That's why you get those diffuse Halos around galaxies as well.

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Examples

  • The artist preferred to work in diffuse lighting to bring out the subtle colors in her paintings.

  • The more complex and often diffuse environmental problems of today demand new tools of engagement.

    Academic text (1999)
  • And that helps reflect the light in a more diffuse pattern, which frankly looks great.

  • The streams flowing in are very small, and they flow through very diffuse channels.

    Academic text (2008)
  • What you need to do is look at a diffuse source of bright light, like a fluorescent tube or the blue sky.

  • The galaxies are extremely diffuse and are barely visible in contrast to the night sky.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Plus, you can also see the diffuse light between galaxies as well, known as the intracluster light.

  • Their facets glowed with the ambience of the lanterns, producing a diffuse and cloudy light.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • As the sun began to set, the sky became illuminated by diffuse hues of orange and pink.

Synonyms

sparse
vsdiffuse
31 5.0

Present in small numbers or amounts

refer to spread across an area without implying low density
scattered
vsdiffuse
1 3.5

Spread over a wide area and not close together

cover an area more evenly rather than in irregular separate bits
spread-out
vsdiffuse
1 3.5

Arranged so they cover a wide area like papers fanned on a table

are simply spread without implying a particular arrangement or fan shape
diffusive
vsdiffuse
  • Specialized
1 7.7

Spreads slowly through a material, like ink in water

is used for things already spread rather than their tendency to move
dispersed
vsdiffuse
4.2

Spread out across a wide area

spread more continuously across an area rather than into separate parts
distributed
vsdiffuse
3.8

Spread out across an area or shared among many people

focuses on not being concentrated rather than on dividing among parts
diffused
vsdiffuse
4.4

Light that spreads out and looks soft, not in one direction

applies broadly to many things not only to light or rays
disseminative
vsdiffuse
8.4

Likely to spread widely, for example news or disease

describes the actual spread rather than the cause or tendency to spread
suffusive
vsdiffuse
  • Literature
9.9

Spreading a soft color or feeling slowly over something

spreads across an area without focusing on gradual filling or emotion

Antonyms

concentrated
  • Specialized
5.7

Light from a small, strong source that shines on one place

Compounds

diffuse nebula
  • Specialized
9.1

A cloud of gas and dust lit by nearby stars, seen as a faint hazy patch in the sky

How Spread Out

pervasive
66 7.1
diffuse
8 6.4
scattered
1 3.5
localized
  • US
4.8
concentrated
  • Specialized
4.4

Surface Forms

diffuse positive
diffuser comparative
diffusest superlative

Etymology

Diffuse comes from the Latin parts dis- 'away' and fundere 'to pour', like light or people being 'poured out' over a wide space. That's why a diffuse (adjective) thing is spread out and not focused in one place.