defuse

The Parades Commission began operating in 1998 to regulate parades and try to defuse tension around marches.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Cooper said he had to defuse that encounter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Wataka tried to defuse tensions by inviting the officials and police to attend the concert, an offer that wasn’t accepted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 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

I thought being quiet—speaking only when I absolutely had to—would help defuse whatever tension existed between us, but it only seemed to make things more intense.

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025

The men work for Turn Up Knox, a year-old outreach program that mentors kids and defuses situations that could escalate into violence.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2023

The songs are back, preceded by dialogue in which Guenevere preemptively defuses their sting with Sorkin-esque wit.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2023

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

From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2022

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

Mr. Homan defused a combustible situation by adjusting the style and substance of immigration enforcement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 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

Traders will weigh whether the risk in Iran is “genuinely defused or simply resting,” because calm in the Persian Gulf has a “habit of braking without warning,” he added.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026

As with the spy Penkovsky before him, the information Gordievsky passed to his handlers, experts believe, may well have defused a global crisis and averted nuclear war.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

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

She has tightened drug enforcement along the border, expelled imprisoned cartel bosses wanted by the U.S. and imposed 50% tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles and other goods, defusing U.S. threats of harsher tariffs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025

He was brilliant at defusing situations on the field.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025

“Everyone has their own reasons for the choices they make,” Patria said, defusing the charged atmosphere, “and we have to respect that.”

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez