Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

diffuse

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore D words

spread out or wordy and lacking concision

Word origin: From Latin diffundere, to pour out, from fundere, to pour.

Start a free GRE mock test 39 minutes · free · instant score
In a sentence

Diffuse in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing diffuse in a sentence.

The report was so diffuse that its main point was hard to find.

The lecture was so diffuse that students struggled to identify a single central argument.

Synonyms
scattereddispersedverbose
Antonyms
concentratedconcisefocused

Quick GRE check

Question 1 of 3

3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?

Verbal · Sentence Equivalence

The startup's early growth, impressive as it looked on paper, rested on a blank foundation, for a single lost contract was enough to push the firm to the brink of collapse.

Select the two answers that give the sentence the same meaning. 0 of 2 selected.

Usage & nuance

Using “diffuse” well

As an adjective, diffuse means spread out or, of prose, wordy and unfocused, pairing with scattered and verbose. Take care with the verb diffuse, to spread, which is sometimes confused with defuse, to make less dangerous.

Common questions

Questions about “diffuse”

Diffuse (adjective) means spread out or wordy and lacking concision
Here is diffuse used in an example sentence: "The report was so diffuse that its main point was hard to find." Another example: "The lecture was so diffuse that students struggled to identify a single central argument."
Common synonyms for diffuse include scattered, dispersed, verbose.
Antonyms of diffuse include concentrated, concise, focused.
Clusters with scattered, dispersed, and verbose in Sentence Equivalence. Antonyms concentrated, concise, and focused describe tight, gathered expression.
Yes. Diffuse is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

See these words the way the GRE tests them.

Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.