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Glite Dictionary
to defuse tension

to defuse tension

2 4.5
To make a situation less tense by calming people
  • phrasal verb
  • /dɪˈfjuz ˈtɛnʃən/
translation icon : desescalar la tensión
  • In order to defuse tension with China and thus preserve the option of developing strategic ties, the Reagan administration consistently compromised.

Examples

  • First, the federalist approach tends to defuse tension among people with different moral views.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Games and activities can provide children and their workers with a "third thing" on which to focus and defuse tension when something difficult is being discussed.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Just trying to defuse the tension.

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

  • How much worse will the crisis get, and what can be done to defuse tensions?

    Blog text (11)

  • But I'm gonna defuse that tension right now.

    Looper (2012)

  • Bishop asks for U.S. leadership to defuse Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

    Blog text (17)

  • The news came as it sent its top diplomat to Russia amid efforts to defuse tensions over its deadly artillery attack on neighboring South Korea.

    Blog text (27)

  • The Australian government later tried to defuse tensions by consulting with each of the ten ASEAN ambassadors and high commissioners to explain that no action would be taken without consultation.

    Academic text (2003)

  • After more than a year of popular agitation, Kerekou was prompted to call a broad national conference at the end of February 1990, with the apparent aim of defusing tensions.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The manager implemented new strategies to defuse tension among team members during the project.

Synonyms

to calm
vsto defuse tension
962 1.0

Make a person or animal less upset

is narrower, aiming to reduce hostility so conflict is less likely
to relieve
vsto defuse tension
166 2.3

Make pain, stress, or worry less

is broader, focusing on general relief rather than stopping hostility
to defuse
vsto defuse tension
29 4.5

Make a tense or dangerous situation calmer

is about reducing hostility specifically to prevent conflict
to disarm
vsto defuse tension
15 3.9

To calm someone by being kind or friendly

works on the whole situation to reduce conflict risk, not only one person
to mollify
vsto defuse tension
8 7.2

To make someone less angry or upset

acts on overall hostility to prevent a conflict rather than just anger
to pacify
vsto defuse tension
8 6.3

To bring peace to a place after fighting, often by using force

typically seeks to lower hostility without using force to prevent conflict
to deescalate
vsto defuse tension
2 4.8

To make an argument or conflict less serious and less dangerous

focuses more on calming hostility to stop conflict from erupting
to de-escalate
vsto defuse tension
5.6

To make a conflict or tense situation less dangerous and calmer

aims primarily to calm hostility so open conflict does not start
to lighten tensions
vsto defuse tension
4.1

Make a tense situation calmer

targets lowering hostility specifically to avoid a conflict

Antonyms

to provoke
144 3.6

Annoy someone again and again to make them react

How Calm

to defuse tension
2 4.5

Surface Forms

defuse tension infinitive
defused tension past
defused tension past participle
defusing tension present participle
defuses tension third person singular

Morphology

defuse + tension

The meaning 'to make a situation less tense' is directly and compositionally derived from 'defuse' (to lessen or calm) plus 'tension' (anxiety/hostility). Although 'defuse' has a literal bomb-origin metaphor, the verb+noun combination maps predictably onto reducing strain, a common cross-linguistic metaphor, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Defuse tension comes from the image of taking the fuse off a bomb: to defuse a bomb is to stop it from 'exploding', and tension is the pressure that could 'explode' into a fight. So to defuse tension means to calm a situation and stop a conflict before it starts.