fuse

Word family

• fusion
  nounB2
• fused
  adjectiveB2
• fusible
  adjectiveC1
• defuse
  verbC1
• infuse
  verbC1
• refuse
  verbB1
• confuse
  verbB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

These five words all involve bringing things together, but each emphasises a different aspect. 'Combine' is the most general — it means putting two or more things together without specifying how closely they mix. 'Blend' suggests a smooth, even mixture where the original parts become hard to tell apart, as when blending spices or colours. 'Merge' is used for organisations or groups joining to form a single entity, like when two companies merge into one. 'Fuse' (the target sense) implies a deeper, more creative union — ideas, cultures, or musical styles that fuse retain their identity but create something new together. 'Weld' is physical: joining metal with heat, often used metaphorically for a very tight bond. 'Melt' is about heat turning a solid into liquid, which may or may not join with another material. For example: 'The chef blended Eastern and Western spices' (smooth mixing), 'The two banks merged' (organisational), but 'The artist fused jazz and hip-hop in a new way' (creative union).

Common collocations

Etymology

The word 'fuse' comes from the Latin 'fusus', the past participle of 'fundere', meaning 'to pour' or 'to melt'. It entered English through Italian and French in the 1600s, first used for a tube that carried fire to gunpowder — a 'fuse' because the powder in it was 'melted' or cast. By the late 1800s, with the rise of electricity, the term was applied to the small safety wire that melts to break a circuit. The verb uses — joining metal by melting, and later combining ideas — developed from the same melting-and-flowing image.