Literary notes about diffuse (AI summary)
The term "diffuse" in literature flexibly conveys both the act of spreading gracefully and the tendency toward expansive, sometimes overly elaborate expression. At times, it is used to describe an almost ethereal quality—a light or charm that seeps into every corner, as when beauty or radiance is portrayed as gently pervading a space [1, 2, 3]. In other contexts, writers employ "diffuse" to denote thoughts or narratives that wander, lacking the tight focus of concise expression, suggesting an undue elongation or diluted intensity [4, 5, 6]. Moreover, the word often carries moral or emotional connotations, implying the transmission of joy, truth, or benevolence through one’s demeanor or writing [7, 8, 9].
- There are few Ellens on this weary earth, for nature and grace seemed to combine in her to diffuse their charms.
— from The Catholic World, Vol. 05, April 1867 to September 1867 by Various - Light is so diffuse, so subtle, that it permeates everywhere, and whatever little may remain, the retina of the eye will succeed in finding it.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - A red streak shot up, and a rosy light seemed to diffuse itself through the room.
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - His works are clear and well arranged but somewhat too diffuse.
— from History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1 by James MacCaffrey - This book affords some curious details, but I thought it long and diffuse.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 2 by Alexis de Tocqueville - On such a subject," sighing heavily, "can I have little temptation to be diffuse.
— from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - A man should diffuse joy, but, as much as he can, smother grief.
— from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne - and how ought I to strive to diffuse the blessings I experience, to all in my knowledge!—For else, what is it for such a worm as I to be exalted!
— from Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson - Their Virtues are blended in their Children, and diffuse through the whole Family a perpetual Spirit of Benevolence, Complacency, and Satisfaction.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
