Infuse, suffuse, imbue, ingrain, inoculate, leaven mean to introduce one thing into another so as to affect it throughout.
Infuse implies a permeating like that of infiltering fluid, usually of something which imbues the recipient with new spirit, life, or vigor or gives it or him a new cast or new significance.
Suffuse implies an overspreading of a surface by or a spreading through an extent of something that gives the thing affected a distinctive or unusual color, aspect, texture, or quality.
Imbue implies the introduction of something that enters so deeply and so extensively into the thing’s substance or nature that no part is left untouched or unaffected; unlike infuse, which it otherwise closely resembles, imbue takes as its object the person or thing affected, not the thing that is introduced.
Ingrain is found in the. past participle or passive forms only; like imbue, it implies an incorporation of something comparable to a pervading dye with the body, substance, or nature of whatever is affected, but unlike imbue, it takes for its object or, when the verb is passive, as its subject the thing introduced rather than the person or thing affected.
Inoculate implies imbuing a person with something that alters him in a manner suggestive of a disease germ or an antigen. Often, the term implies an introduction of an idea, a doctrine, an emotion, or a taste by highly surreptitious or artificial means, in order to achieve a desired end; less often, it additionally implies an evil and destructive quality in what is introduced.
Leaven implies a transforming or tempering of a body or mass by the introduction of something which enlivens, elevates, exalts, or, occasionally, causes disturbance, agitation, or corruption.