*fus*

n. [ Cf. F. affusion. ] The act of pouring upon, or sprinkling with a liquid, as water upon a child in baptism. Specifically: (Med) The act of pouring water or other fluid on the whole or a part of the body, as a remedy in disease. Dunglison. [ archaic ] AS [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or or . A fuse used in blasting, consisting of a long cylinder of explosive material inclosed in a varnished wrapping of rope or hose. It burns from 2 to 4 feet a minute. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ L. bilis bile + fuscus dark. ] (Physiol.) A brownish green pigment found in human gallstones and in old bile. It is a derivative of bilirubin. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. circumfusus, p. p. of circumfundere to pour around; circum + fundere to pour. ] To pour round; to spread round. [ 1913 Webster ]

His army circumfused on either wing. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. circum- + L. fusilis fusil, a. ] Capable of being poured or spread round. “Circumfusile gold.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. circumfusio. ] The act of pouring or spreading round; the state of being spread round. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. See Confuse, a. ] Confused, disturbed. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Capability of being confused. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being confused. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. confus, L. confusus, p. p. of confundere. See Confound. ] Mixed; confounded. [ Obs. ] Baret. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Confused p. pr. & vb. n. Confusing. ] 1. To mix or blend so that things can not be distinguished; to jumble together; to confound; to render indistinct or obscure; as, to confuse accounts; to confuse one's vision. [ 1913 Webster ]

A universal hubbub wild
Of stunning sounds and voices all confused. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To perplex; to disconcert; to abash; to cause to lose self-possession. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor thou with shadowed hint confuse
A life that leads melodious days. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Confused and sadly she at length replied. Pope.

Syn. -- To abash; disorder; disarrange; disconcert; confound; obscure; distract. See Abash. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. same as confounded; as, bewildered and confused.
Syn. -- at sea, befuddled, bemused, bewildered, confounded, mazed, mixed-up. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. lacking orderly continuity.
Syn. -- disconnected, disjointed, disordered, disorganized, desultory, garbled, illogical, rambling, scattered, unconnected. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. thrown into disorder; as, His workbench held a confused assortment of spare engine parts..
Syn. -- disordered, in disarray, upset. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

4. having lost one's bearings physically or mentally.
Syn. -- disoriented, lost. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

5. not marked by fine distinctions. discriminate
Syn. -- indiscriminate. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

6. causing bafflement and confusion.
Syn. -- bewildering, confusing. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In a confused manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A state of confusion. Norris. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Confusedly; obscurely. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. causing mental confusion and perplexity.
Syn. -- perplexing, stupefying. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. causing bafflement and confusion; as, he sent confusing signals to Iraq.
Syn. -- bewildering, confused. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. confusion, L. confusio. ] 1. The state of being mixed or blended so as to produce indistinctness or error; indistinct combination; disorder; tumult. [ 1913 Webster ]

The confusion of thought to which the Aristotelians were liable. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Moody beggars starving for a time
Of pellmell havoc and confusion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being abashed or disconcerted; loss self-possession; perturbation; shame. [ 1913 Webster ]

Confusion dwelt in every face
And fear in every heart. Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Overthrow; defeat; ruin. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ruin seize thee, ruthless king,
Confusion on thy banners wait. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. One who confuses; a confounder. [ Obs. ] Chapmen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Confusion of goods (Law), the intermixture of the goods of two or more persons, so that their respective portions can no longer be distinguished. Blackstone. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Confusing; having a tendency to confusion. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. Diffuse. ] 1. To disorder; to make shapeless. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To remove the fuse from; to deactivate (a bomb or other explosive device) or make it ineffective.
Syn. -- deactivate. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

3. To make less dangerous; as, to defuse a tense confrontation between demonstrators and police. [ PJC ]

n. 1. The act of deactivating or making ineffective (as a bomb).
Syn. -- deactivation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Chem.) Material which, in the process of catalysis, has diffused or passed through the separating membrane. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Diffused p. pr. & vb. n. Diffusing. ] [ L. diffusus, p. p. of diffundere to pour out, to diffuse; dif- = dis- + fundere to pour. See Fuse to melt. ] To pour out and cause to spread, as a fluid; to cause to flow on all sides; to send out, or extend, in all directions; to spread; to circulate; to disseminate; to scatter; as to diffuse information. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thence diffuse
His good to worlds and ages infinite. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

We find this knowledge diffused among all civilized nations. Whewell.

Syn. -- To expand; spread; circulate; extend; scatter; disperse; publish; proclaim. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To pass by spreading every way, to diffuse itself. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. diffusus, p. p. ] Poured out; widely spread; not restrained; copious; full; esp., of style, opposed to concise or terse; verbose; prolix; as, a diffuse style; a diffuse writer. [ 1913 Webster ]

A diffuse and various knowledge of divine and human things. Milton.

Syn. -- Prolix; verbose; wide; copious; full. See Prolix. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Spread abroad; dispersed; loose; flowing; diffuse. [ 1913 Webster ]

It grew to be a widely diffused opinion. Hawthorne.

-- Dif*fus"ed*ly adv. -- Dif*fus"ed*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a diffuse manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being diffuse; especially, in writing, the use of a great or excessive number of word to express the meaning; copiousness; verbosity; prolixity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, diffuses. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being diffusible; capability of being poured or spread out. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Capable of flowing or spreading in all directions; that may be diffused. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol.) Capable of passing through animal membranes by osmosis. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Diffusibility. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. diffusio: cf. F. diffusion. ] 1. The act of diffusing, or the state of being diffused; a spreading; extension; dissemination; circulation; dispersion. [ 1913 Webster ]

A diffusion of knowledge which has undermined superstition. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol.) The act of passing by osmosis through animal membranes, as in the distribution of poisons, gases, etc., through the body. Unlike absorption, diffusion may go on after death, that is, after the blood ceases to circulate.

Syn. -- Extension; spread; propagation; circulation; expansion; dispersion. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. diffusif. ] Having the quality of diffusing; capable of spreading every way by flowing; spreading widely; widely reaching; copious; diffuse. “A plentiful and diffusive perfume.” Hare. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a diffusive manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being diffusive or diffuse; extensiveness; expansion; dispersion. Especially of style: Diffuseness; want of conciseness; prolixity. [ 1913 Webster ]

The fault that I find with a modern legend, it its diffusiveness. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Tendency to become diffused; tendency, as of heat, to become equalized by spreading through a conducting medium. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a person who is stupid or inept; -- used contemptuously. [ Also spelled dufus. ] [ Slang ]
Syn. -- dingdong, ding-a-ling. [ PJC ]

a. [ L. effusus, p. p. of effundere to pour out; ex + fundere to pour. See Fuse to melt. ] 1. Poured out freely; profuse. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So should our joy be very effuse. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Disposed to pour out freely; prodigal. [ Obs. ] Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) Spreading loosely, especially on one side; as, an effuse inflorescence. Loudon. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Zoöl.) Having the lips, or edges, of the aperture abruptly spreading; -- said of certain shells. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Effusion; loss. “Much effuse of blood.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Effused p. pr. & vb. n. Effusing. ] To pour out like a stream or freely; to cause to exude; to shed. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

With gushing blood effused. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To emanate; to issue. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. effusio: cf. F. effusion. ] 1. The act of pouring out; as, effusion of water, of blood, of grace, of words, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

To save the effusion of my people's blood. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is poured out, literally or figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wash me with that precious effusion, and I shall be whiter than sow. Eikon Basilike. [ 1913 Webster ]

The light effusions of a heedless boy. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Pathol.) (a) The escape of a fluid out of its natural vessel, either by rupture of the vessel, or by exudation through its walls. It may pass into the substance of an organ, or issue upon a free surface. (b) The liquid escaping or exuded. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Pouring out; pouring forth freely. [ archaic ] “Washed with the effusive wave.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Geol.) formed by an outpouring of molten lava, or pertaining to rocks so formed. [ PJC ]

3. overly demonstrative; expressing emotion in an unrestrained manner; exhibiting unrestrained enthusiasm; -- of people and human actions; as, effusive thanks; an effusive letter of recommendation. Contrasted with reserved. [ wns=1+2 ]
Syn. -- gushing, gushy, burbling, burbly. [ PJC ]

Effusive rocks (Geol.), volcanic rocks formed by a nonexplosive outpouring of lava in molten or plastic form; in distinction from so-called intrusive, or plutonic, rocks.

-- Ef*fu"sive*ly, adv. -- Ef*fu"sive*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a friendly open trait of a talkative person; enthusiasm exhibited with little restraint.
Syn. -- expansiveness. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

‖n. [ F., the spindle tree; also, charcoal made from it. ] (Fine Arts) (a) Fine charcoal of willow wood, used as a drawing implement. (b) A drawing made with it. See Charcoal, n. 2, and Charcoal drawing, under Charcoal. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. fusarolle, fr. It. fusaruolo, fr. fuso spindle, shaft of a column. See Fusee a conical wheel. ] (Arch.) A molding generally placed under the echinus or quarter round of capitals in the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders of architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. fuscare, fuscatum, to make dark, fr. fuscus dark. ] A darkening; obscurity; obfuscation. [ R. ] Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. fuscus dark-colored, tawny. ] (Physiol. Chem.) A brown, nitrogenous pigment contained in the retinal epithelium; a variety of melanin. [ 1913 Webster ]