 Diffuse versus diffuse. These two words are often confused. Let's break their difference down. The word diffuse is a verb and means to make a situation less tense or harmful, such as here. The teacher's quiet voice helped to diffuse the situation. Diffuse is also a verb but means to spread over a wide area. An example sentence would be, the toxic pollutants diffuse into the soil. So remember, diffuse means to make a situation less tense and diffuse means to spread over a wide area. That's it for today. See you next time.