defuse.
To remove the fuse from (e.g. a bomb).
Meaning & usage
To remove the fuse from (e.g. a bomb).
To make less dangerous, tense, or hostile.
The diplomats are trying to defuse the escalating crisis.
to defuse a hostage situation
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- English fuse English defuse From de- + fuse.
To disorder; to make shapeless.
Where this word comes from
Compare diffuse.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.