Infuse
verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 To cause to become an element of something; to insert or fill. transitive
"Like every day this hellish summer, someone will come to infuse me with four hours with amphotericin, a weed-killer somewhat effective against cryptococcal meningitis."
- 2 introduce into the body through a vein, for therapeutic purposes wordnet
- 3 To steep in a liquid, so as to extract the soluble constituents (usually medicinal or herbal). transitive
"1806-1831, John Redman Coxe, The American Dispensatory One scruple of the dried leaves is infused in ten ounces of warm water."
- 4 let sit in a liquid to extract a flavor or to cleanse wordnet
- 5 To inspire; to inspirit or animate; to fill (with). transitive
"Infuse his breast with magnanimity."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 undergo the process of infusion wordnet
- 7 To instill as a quality. transitive
"That souls of animals infuse themselves Into the trunks of men."
- 8 fill, as with a certain quality wordnet
- 9 To undergo infusion. intransitive
"Let it infuse for five minutes."
- 10 teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions wordnet
- 11 To make an infusion with (an ingredient); to tincture; to saturate. transitive
"if you infuse Rubarb for an hour ; and crush it well, it will purge better, and bind the Body less after the purġing, than if it stood Twenty four hours"
- 12 To pour in, as a liquid; to pour (into or upon); to shed. obsolete, transitive
"That strong Circean liquor cease t’infuse."
Example
More examples"Like every day this hellish summer, someone will come to infuse me with four hours with amphotericin, a weed-killer somewhat effective against cryptococcal meningitis."
Etymology
From Middle English infusen, from Latin infusus, from infundo.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.