Infuse Meaning
/ɪnˈfjuz/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo cause to become an element of something; to insert or fill.
verbTo steep in a liquid, so as to extract the soluble constituents (usually medicinal or herbal).
Sentence Examples
She will infuse the tea with herbs.
The doctor will infuse the medication.
You should infuse the tea leaves for five minutes.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chef let the tea bags sit in hot water to ____ the liquid with flavor.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You should let the tea leaves ____ in the hot water for at least five minutes for a full flavor.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English infusen, from Latin infusus, from infundo.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1989 April 15, Richard F. Tremblay, “Two Days”, in Gay Community News, page 8:
"Infuse his breast with magnanimity."
— c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]:
"infusing him with self and vain conceit"
— 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
"The uproar of the sea, the yell of the Indians, the rapidity with which the boat at intervals was driven, threatening at every moment to be engulphed, might have infused terror into the most undaunted;[…]"
— 1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XV, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 219:
"That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men."
— c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chef let the tea bags sit in hot water to ____ the liquid with flavor.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You should let the tea leaves ____ in the hot water for at least five minutes for a full flavor.