what it means
Diffuse means to spread out in every direction until the thing is thin. Open a bottle of perfume in the corner of a room and do nothing at all: within a minute the smell is at the far wall. Nobody carried it. It simply spread from where there was a lot of it to where there was none. That is the whole idea, and it explains the lamp fitting called a diffuser — it does not make less light, it spreads the light so no part of the room is glaring. From there the word turns critical. A diffuse argument has gone everywhere and landed nowhere. Spread is what you gain; strength is what it costs.
Diffuse es extenderse en todas direcciones hasta quedar fino. Abre un frasco de perfume en una esquina y no hagas nada: en un minuto el olor está en la pared de enfrente. Nadie lo llevó; pasó de donde había mucho a donde no había. Por eso un difusor reparte la luz. Y de ahí la crítica: un argumento diffuse no llega a ninguna parte.
Diffuse é espalhar-se em todas as direções até ficar fino. Abra um vidro de perfume num canto e não faça nada: em um minuto o cheiro está na parede oposta. Ninguém o levou; ele foi de onde havia muito para onde não havia. Por isso um difusor reparte a luz. E daí a crítica: um argumento diffuse não chega a lugar nenhum.
Diffuse, c'est se répandre dans toutes les directions jusqu'à devenir mince. Ouvrez un flacon de parfum dans un coin et ne faites rien : en une minute l'odeur est au mur d'en face. Personne ne l'a portée ; elle est passée de là où il y en avait beaucoup à là où il n'y en avait pas. D'où la critique : un argument diffuse va partout et n'arrive nulle part.
Diffuse berarti menyebar ke segala arah sampai tipis. Buka botol parfum di sudut ruangan dan diamkan: dalam semenit baunya sudah sampai dinding seberang. Tak ada yang membawanya; ia pindah dari tempat yang banyak ke tempat yang kosong. Dari situ kata ini jadi kritik: argumen yang diffuse tidak sampai ke mana pun.
Diffuse, incelene incelene her yöne yayılmaktır. Odanın köşesinde bir parfüm şişesini açın ve bekleyin: bir dakikada koku karşı duvardadır. Kimse taşımadı; çoğun olduğu yerden hiç olmadığı yere kendiliğinden geçti. Oradan eleştiriye döner: diffuse bir savunma hiçbir yere varmaz.
diffuse は、薄くなるまで四方に広がることです。部屋の隅で香水の瓶を開けて、あとは何もしないでください。一分で匂いは向こうの壁にあります。誰も運んでいません。多いところから、ないところへ広がっただけです。だからディフューザーは光を減らさず、まぶしい場所がなくなるように散らします。diffuse な議論は、どこへでも行き、どこにも着きません。
verb
to spread out over a wide area
“The dye diffused slowly through the water.”
adjective
spread out, and so not concentrated or sharp
“The light was diffuse and threw no shadow.”
adjective
of writing or speech: using many words and making no point
“Her answer was long and diffuse.”
Get the 10-word book — free. This word and nine like it, as a printable PDF.
Perfume opened in a corner reaches the far wall by —
Write one line with diffuse. You get a score, the one thing that would fix it, and your own sentence written sharper. The five best hold the wall.
Sign in with Google to post — your sentence rides along.
No one holds this wall yet. Be the first.