defuse

She implemented wry wit like a tactical defense, a trusty tool in her arsenal that could disarm an opponent and defuse tricky conversations.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Whether those assurances will be enough to defuse the protests remains uncertain.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

On Tuesday, before Svyrydenko's announcement, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk -- at loggerheads with the country's nationalist president on a number of fronts -- sought to defuse the tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

The former President informed the Clinton Administration that he intended to take up a prior offer from the North Koreans to visit and try to defuse the situation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

Their levels of cortisol actually went down, as if they were unconsciously trying to defuse their own anger.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

He defuses them, crushing the cans and dragging them into the driveway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025

Zivic defuses the argument by suggesting Jackson toss the popcorn into his mouth.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2022

"He has got to make a clean breast. I usually find that if you make your apologies, it defuses the issue. Can't have it hanging on," said the lawmaker.

From Reuters ● Jan. 12, 2022

Reporting their results this Wednesday in The Proceedings of the Royal Society A, the team concludes that water both makes and defuses these doughy volcanic bombs.

From New York Times ● Sep. 11, 2021

And although there couldn’t be a more neutral statement, it defuses any insectious worries I might have given her.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Murray defused the situation adeptly, declaring: "Playing at a Wimbledon final is tough and I certainly wouldn't want to be Prime Minister, it's a tough job."

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

But when I apologized by admitting it was my first real investment and I simply didn’t know better, the tension defused.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

She declined to answer questions on whether tensions had been defused with Washington.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026

The summit will offer Brussels the chance to turn the page after a bruising transatlantic crisis over Greenland -- now seemingly defused.

From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026

And I took great care to appear so deeply, thoroughly unmoved by the whole photo debacle that the mess defused itself in a matter of days.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

Several chapters are devoted to Kip’s stories of defusing bombs and saving English lives, all aided by Lord Suffolk’s encouragement.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

He landed on the cover of Time magazine in 1999, the leading figure in what the magazine dubbed “The Committee to Save the World” after defusing financial crises in Asia and Russia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Earlier this week, Netflix converted its $27.75 a share bid to an all-cash offer in hopes of defusing some of Paramount’s criticisms of its deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

But O’Donnell likens the dynamics of the cast at that time to a dysfunctional sisterhood, adding that Morgan defusing the situation with Bensimon felt like someone trying to comfort a sibling.

From Salon ● May 20, 2025

This is exactly the kind of thing I am supposed to be defusing!

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins