verbWord forms: -cuses, -cusing, -cused, -cusses, -cussing or -cussed
formal
to go or cause to go out of focus
defocus in American English
(diˈfoukəs)
Word forms: verb-cused, -cusing or esp Brit -cussed, -cussingWord forms: nounplural -cuses
transitive verb
1.
to cause loss of focus of
The slightest movement will defocus the microscope
2.
to interrupt or disturb (concentration, attention, etc.)
3.
to disturb the concentration or awareness of (someone)
intransitive verb
4.
to lose or go out of focus
5.
to lose concentration or awareness; become distracted
noun
6.
the result of defocusing, as a blurred photographic image
Word origin
[1930–35; de- + focus]This word is first recorded in the period 1930–35. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cloverleaf, kickback, old school tie, saddle stitch, technical foulde- is a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin (decide); also used to indicate privation, removal, and separation (dehumidify), negation (demerit; derange), descent (degrade; deduce), reversal (detract), or intensity (decompound)