effuse

American  

[ih-fyooz, ih-fyoos] / ɪˈfyuz, ɪˈfyus /

verb (used with object)

effused, effusing

1. to pour out or forth; shed; disseminate.

   The town effuses warmth and hospitality.

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verb (used without object)

effused, effusing

1. to exude; flow out.

2. Physics. (of a gas) to flow through a very small orifice.

adjective

1. scattered; profuse.

2. Botany. spread out loosely.

3. (of certain shells) having the lips separated by a gap or groove.

effuse British  

verb

1. to pour or flow out

2. to spread out; diffuse

3. (intr) to talk profusely, esp in an excited manner

4. to cause (a gas) to flow or (of a gas) to flow under pressure

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adjective

1. botany (esp of an inflorescence) spreading out loosely

Other Word Forms

• uneffused adjective
• uneffusing adjective

Etymology

Origin of effuse

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin effūs ( us ) (past participle of effundere ) poured out, equivalent to ef- ef- + fūsus poured ( fuse ² )