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
Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Goldman Sachs looks under the hood and has 3 takeaways to defuse the hype by Nick Lichtenberg and Fortune Intelligence
Coinbase’s new super app Base is a game changer—and could become a serious money maker by Jeff John Roberts
CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 18 July 2025
Should this change bring about that peace by defusing any power struggle, that would only be seen as a positive step toward keeping Verstappen in place.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 10 July 2025
Doing a light joke after announcing a heavy premise is always smart, but Che’s brother reference also defuses some objections that might get in the audience’s way of enjoying a bit on a polarizing political issue.
—John Roy, Vulture, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for defuse
Cite this Entry
“Defuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defuse. Accessed 2 Aug. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share