ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONFUSING WORDS SERIES #22: DEFUSE VS. DIFFUSE
These words are called homophones, which means having the same or similar pronunciation and may have the same spelling or otherwise. However, these two words have different stresses when pronounced.
IN A SENTENCE:
The House of Congress meeting was temporarily shut down due to a bomb threat. SWAT and the bomb squad are trying DEFUSE the bomb found under the desk of a Republican Congresswoman. It was gathered that the Congress is discussing on the issue on how to DIFFUSE military power to the different sectors of armed forces to fight against terrorism.
DISCLAIMER: I am not an English Native Speaker nor an expert in English language. What I write here are all from experience and research. If you feel I am out of line or say the wrong things, please alert me in the comments. To this effect, I am not immuned to these confusing words myself and this series is as much as an education for me as to those who read these blog posts.
DEFUSE VS. DIFFUSE
PHOTO SOURCE: LINKEDIN.COM
DEFUSE
...is a VERB which means to remove a fuse from an explosive device to keep from exploding; to make a dangerous situation less tense.
PHOTO CREDIT: TRIBUNE.COM.PK
Example #1: A bomb expert was called in to DEFUSE a bomb that was in a duffle bag dropped by a speeding car near a children’s playground.
Example #2: HEADLINE: "Tick tock: 12kg bomb DEFUSEd, motorcycle recovered"
SOURCE: TRIBUNE.COM.PK
SYNONYMS:
(VERB) : disarm, disable, deactivate
DIFFUSE
... is a VERB which means to spread over a wide area or among a large number of persons.
PHOTO CREDIT: ALANDEREKUTLEY.COM
Example #1: The military power can be DIFFUSed properly with appropriate policies to all branches of the armed forces.
Example #2: HEADLINE: “Seven Ways to Diffuse Holiday Stress”
SOURCE: FASTCOMPANY.COM
SYNONYMS:
(VERB): disperse, spread out, scatter
HOW THEY ARE PRONOUNCED
VIDEO CREDIT: Learn To Pronounce
FURTHER STUDY:
http://grammarist.com/usage/defuse-diffuse/
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/diffuse-or-defuse
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/diffuse-versus-defuse
https://writingexplained.org/defuse-vs-diffuse-difference
http://www.gingersoftware.com/english-online/spelling-book/confusing-words/defuse-diffuse
@cjclaro, great educational work, very helpful specialy for students. your topic about "Homophone words" known as Confusing words. ie; DEFUSE VS DIFFUSE.
■DEFUSE: The bomb blew up as experts tried to defuse it.
●DIFFUSE: The new opposition party continues to be a diffuse organization.
thanks! nice work, too with your own examples ;-)
you wellcome, i think you realy do nice efforts here.
Trying to provide quality contents for Steemit, that's all. Thanks for your support @rabeel ;-)