Standard Lemma guide

diffusion

noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /dɪˈfjuː.ʒən/
  • General-American: /dɪˈfju.ʒən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːʒən
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 F Y UW1 ZH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of diffusing or dispersing something, or the property of being diffused or dispersed; dispersion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The scattering of light by reflection from a rough surface, or by passage through a translucent medium.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The intermingling of the molecules of a fluid due to random thermal agitation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

Examples

  • gaseous diffusion

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The spread of cultural or linguistic practices, or social institutions, in one or more communities.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The gradual spread and adoption of goods or services.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: business, marketing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Exchange of airborne media between regions in space in an apparently random motion of a small scale.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: climatology, meteorology, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics, weather

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

The movement of water vapor from regions of high concentration (high water vapor pressure) toward regions of lower concentration.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

the act of dispersing or diffusing something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the dispersion of the troops
  • the diffusion of knowledge

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dispersion, dispersal, dissemination

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spread, spreading

Narrower terms: crop-dusting, spraying

9

noun

Meaning 9

the property of being diffused or dispersed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dissemination

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: distribution, dispersion

10

noun

Meaning 10

the spread of social institutions (and myths and skills) from one society to another

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spread, spreading

11

noun

Meaning 11

(physics) the process in which there is movement of a substance from an area of high concentration of that substance to an area of lower concentration

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: natural process, natural action, action, activity

Narrower terms: osmosis, permeation, pervasion, suffusion, transport

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin diffūsiō, from diffundō; can be decomposed as diffuse + -ion.

Across languages

Translations

31 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: اِنْتِشَار (intišār) — in physics, scattering of light
  • Chinese Mandarin: 散射 — in physics, scattering of light
  • French: diffusion — in physics, scattering of light
  • German: Streuung — in physics, scattering of light
  • Hindi: विसरण (visaraṇ) — in physics, scattering of light
  • Persian: انتشار (entešâr) — in physics, scattering of light
  • Polish: rozprzestrzenianie — in physics, scattering of light
  • Russian: рассе́ивание (rasséivanije) — in physics, scattering of light
  • Abkhaz: аилалара (ajlalara) — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Bulgarian: дифузия (difuzija) — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Catalan: difusió — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Chinese Mandarin: 擴散 /扩散 (kuòsàn) — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Czech: difuze — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Dutch: diffusie — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Finnish: diffuusio — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • French: diffusion — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • German: Diffusion — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Hindi: विसरण (visaraṇ) — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Indonesian: difusi — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Japanese: 拡散 (kakusan) — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Māori: ingotanga — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Polish: dyfuzja — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Portuguese: difusão — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Romanian: difuzie — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Russian: диффу́зия (diffúzija) — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Serbo-Croatian: дифузија — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Serbo-Croatian: difuzija — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Spanish: difusión — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Tagalog: panunuot — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Turkish: difüzyon — in physics, intermingling of molecules
  • Welsh: trylediad — in physics, intermingling of molecules
Real reading context

diffusion in complete knowledge articles