I don't know much about American English, but on the Eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean the two words "diffuse" and "defuse" mean two completely different things, and anyone who writes about "diffusing a situation" will just be marked as wrong, and laughed at!
So, on this thread, only chelster and reesetee are correct as far as British English is concerned. You do get some strange ideas over there... and anyone with shares in the company that publishes "The Century Dictionary" would be well-advised to sell them as quickly as possible!
Comments by oldwilliam
oldwilliam commented on the word diffuse
In British English, "diffuse" should never be used to mean "defuse", and "diffusing a tense situation" is just plain wrong!
Comment added because of this error in "The Century Dictionary" (entry for "defuse").
August 4, 2023
oldwilliam commented on the word defuse
I don't know much about American English, but on the Eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean the two words "diffuse" and "defuse" mean two completely different things, and anyone who writes about "diffusing a situation" will just be marked as wrong, and laughed at!
So, on this thread, only chelster and reesetee are correct as far as British English is concerned. You do get some strange ideas over there... and anyone with shares in the company that publishes "The Century Dictionary" would be well-advised to sell them as quickly as possible!
August 4, 2023