英语语法：146 “Diffuse” Versus “Defuse”

Some pairs of words are used interchangeably, even indiscriminately. Often the words in question sound similar, and that creates confusion. Other times they are simply misused² so frequently—owing to their similarity of meaning, despite a nuanced difference—that the misuse¹ becomes commonplace.
Today, we’ll look at two pairs.
Convince Versus³ Persuade
First, consider the verbs “convince” and “persuade.” Even though the adjective forms —“convincing” and “persuasive”—are synonyms⁴, the verbs “convince” and “persuade” should be used in different contexts.
Frequently, you might hear someone say something like, “I convinced Melvin to make his presentation less tedious.” Well, you may have succeeded in getting Melvin to spice things up, slide-wise, but what you actually did is “persuade” him to do so. (You may also have “convinced” him that it would be a splendid idea for his audience not to be lulled⁵ into a vapid⁶ stupor⁷.)
Here's the key difference between the two words. A person persuades another to do something, to take action. “I persuaded Algernon to go with me to the roller derby.” Because “to go” is an action, the correct verb choice is “persuade."
Then there is this sentence: “I convinced Algernon that roller derby is an enthralling⁸ way to spend a Saturday.”   In that case, there's a concept, an idea, or an opinion at stake. That’s when “convince” is the way to go.
You persuade someone to take an action, and you convince them that your idea is a good one.
The Tip
The Quick and Dirty Tip is an easy mnemonic device. The second syllable⁹ of each word holds the key. Let the “a” in the last syllable of “persuade” stand for “action”, and use “persuade” when you want someone to take action. Let the “i” in the last syllable of “convince” stand for “idea,” and use “convince” when you are conveying an idea. 
With luck, we have convinced you that this distinction is important and have persuaded you to get it right.
Defuse vs. diffuse¹⁰
Now, on to “defuse” and “diffuse.” These verbs are nearly homonyms; they sound almost identical. Their meanings differ, however. Here’s how they differ, along with how to keep them distinct in your discourse¹¹ and your writing. (Remember, proper enunciation¹² helps ensure your meaning is communicated.)
According to Dictionary.com, which cites Random¹³ House, “defuse” means “to make less dangerous, tense, or embarrassing [as in]: to defuse a potentially ugly situation.” That’s definition number two. The primary definition is more to the point, and more literal: “to remove the fuse from (a bomb, mine, etc.).” De-fuse. 
Aardvark and the peeves¹⁴ were at each other's throats. Squiggly knew he had to defuse the situation quickly.
The same sources state that “diffuse” means “to pour out and spread, as a fluid; to spread or scatter¹⁵ widely or thinly; disseminate¹⁶.”
It has another meaning, in physics: “to spread by diffusion¹⁷”—the movement of objects or particles away from one another. Think of “diffused¹⁸ light,” which spreads into a haze¹⁹ rather than holding to a concentrated beam of light.
The light diffused through the room.
 Also, “diffuse” is the opposite of “fusion,” which means a coming together of elements. So diffusion is the spreading apart of elements.
 

1 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

2 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

4 synonyms   

同义词( synonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语，你必须仔细区分同义词。
• Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。

5 lulled   

vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vapid   

adj.无味的；无生气的

参考例句：

• She made a vapid comment about the weather.她对天气作了一番平淡无奇的评论。
• He did the same thing year by year and found life vapid.他每年做着同样的事，觉得生活索然无味。

7 stupor   

v.昏迷；不省人事

参考例句：

• As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作，他逐渐醉得不省人事。
• The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。

8 enthralling   

迷人的

参考例句：

• There will be an enthralling race tomorrow. 明天会有场吸引人的比赛。
• There was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. 在这样地施加影响时，令人感到销魂夺魄。

9 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

10 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

11 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

12 enunciation   

n.清晰的发音；表明，宣言；口齿

参考例句：

• He is always willing to enunciate his opinions on the subject of politics. 他总是愿意对政治问题发表意见。> enunciation / I9nQnsI5eIFn; I9nQnsI`eFEn/ n [C, U]。 来自辞典例句
• Be good at communicating,sense of responsibility,the work is careful,the enunciation is clear. 善于沟通，责任心强，工作细致，口齿清晰。 来自互联网

13 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

14 peeves   

n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It peeves me to be ordered out of my own house. 命令我从自己的家中出去，真太气人了。 来自辞典例句
• Write down two of your pet peeves about home or any other situation. 写下两个你厌烦的家务事或其他的情况。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

15 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

16 disseminate   

v.散布；传播

参考例句：

• We should disseminate science and promote the scientific spirit.普及科学知识，弘扬科学精神。
• We sincerely welcome all countries to disseminate their languages in China.我们真诚地欢迎世界各国来华推广本国语言。

17 diffusion   

n.流布；普及；散漫

参考例句：

• The invention of printing helped the diffusion of learning.印刷术的发明有助于知识的传播。
• The effect of the diffusion capacitance can be troublesome.扩散电容会引起麻烦。

18 diffused   

散布的，普及的，扩散的

参考例句：

• A drop of milk diffused in the water. 一滴牛奶在水中扩散开来。
• Gases and liquids diffused. 气体和液体慢慢混合了。

19 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。