Meaning & use
transfuse
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Meanings
verbtransitivemedical
To transfer blood or another fluid into a person's or animal's bloodstream, usually as a medical treatment.
Grammar: Takes an object: transfuse blood; often used in the passive: the patient was transfused.
Patterns
- transfuse blood/plasma into someone
- transfuse a patient (with blood)
The doctors had to transfuse two units of blood into the accident victim.
Patients with severe anemia may need to be transfused regularly.
The nurse transfused the patient with fresh plasma.
verbtransitiveliteraryrare
To fill someone with a quality, feeling, or idea.
Grammar: Takes an object: transfuse courage into someone; literary and rare.
Patterns
- transfuse something into someone
The coach tried to transfuse his enthusiasm into the team.
Her words transfused new hope into the weary listeners.
Word forms
| third person singular | transfuses |
|---|---|
| past tense | transfused |
| past participle | transfused |
| -ing form | transfusing |
Common combinations
- transfuse blood
- The surgeon had to transfuse blood during the operation.
- transfuse a patient
- They transfused the patient with donated platelets.
- be transfused with
- The patient was transfused with two units of red cells.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inject
- Inject means to put fluid into the body with a needle, often into tissue, while transfuse usually means putting blood directly into the bloodstream.
- infuse
- Infuse often means to soak or to introduce gradually, and can also mean to put fluid into a vein slowly; transfuse is more specific to blood.
Word family
- transfusion noun
- The process of transferring blood into a person's bloodstream.
Commonly confused: transfuse or transfuse?
transfuse vs transfuse
Not to be confused with 'transfuse' and 'transfuse'—actually, learners sometimes confuse 'transfuse' with 'transfuse' (same word) or with 'transfuse' (a rare misspelling). The correct spelling is transfuse.
Practice
The patient lost a lot of blood, so the doctors decided to ______ two units.
Choose one answer.
Transfuse is the correct verb for giving blood into the bloodstream. Inject is for putting fluid into tissue, infuse is for slow introduction of fluids (often not blood), and transplant is for organs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “transfuse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.