diffuse vs shorten

diffuse

verb
  • To spread over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means. 

  • To be spread over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means. 

adj
  • Wordy; verbose. 

  • Everywhere or throughout everything; not focused or concentrated. 

shorten

verb
  • To reduce (sail) by taking it in. 

  • To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen. 

  • To take in the slack of (a rope). 

  • To become shorter. 

  • To make shorter; to abbreviate. 

  • To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, etc. 

  • To make deficient (as to); to deprive (of). 

How often have the words diffuse and shorten occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )