SAT Vocab - D

daunt

to make fearful; to intimidate

dearth

lack; scarcity

debacle

violent breakdown; sudden overthrow; overwhelming defeat

debauchery

wild living; excessive intemperance

debilitate

to weaken; to cripple

decadent

decaying or decayed, especially in terms of morals

decimate

to kill or destroy a large part of

decorous

proper; in good taste; orderly

deduce

to conclude from evidence; to infer

defame

to libel or slander; to ruin the good name of

deference

submission to anothers willl; respect; courtesy

definitive

conclusive; providing last word

degenerate

to break down; to deteriorate

deleterious

harmful

delineate

to describe accurately; to draw in outline

delude

to deceive

deluge

a flood; an inundation

demagogue

a leader of the people, but more a rabble rouser

denizen

inhabitant

depravity

extreme wickedness or corruption

deprecate

to express disapproval of

deride

to ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously

derogatory

disapproving; degrading

desiccate

to dry out

despondent

extremely depressed; full of despair

despot

an absolute ruler; an autocrat

destitute

extremely poor; utterly lacking

desulatory

without a plan or purpose; disconnected; random

dialectical

relating to discussions; relating to the rules and methods of reasoning; approaching truth in the middle of opposing extremes

dictum

an authoritative saying; an adage; a maxim; a proverb

didactive

intended to teach; morally instructive; pedantic

diffident

timid; lacking in self-confidence

digress

to stray from the main subject

dilettante

someone with superficial knowledge of the arts; an amateur; a dabbler

discern

to have insight; to see things clearly; to discriminate; to differentiate

discreet

prudent; judiciously reserved

discrete

unconnected; separate; distinct

discriminate

to notice or point out the difference between two or more things; to discern; to differentiate

disdain

arrogant scorn; contempt

disinterested

not taking sides; unbiased

disparage

to belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about, usually in a somewhat indirect way

disparate

different; incompatible; unequal

disseminate

to spread the seeds of something; to scatter; to make widely known

dissipate

to thin out, drift away, or dissolve; to cause to thin out, drift away, or dissolve; to waste or squander

dissolution

the breaking up or dissolving of something into p arts; disintegration

distend

to swell; to extend a great deal

distinguish

to tell apart; to cause to stand out

docile

easily taught; obedient; easy to handle

doctrinaire

inflexibly committed to a doctrine or theory without regard to its practicality; dogmatic

dogmatic

arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; stubbornly claiming that something (often a system of beliefs) is beyond dispute

domestic

having to do with the household or family; not foreign

dormant

an inactive; as though asleep; asleep

dubious

full of doubt; uncertain

duplicity

the act of being two-faced; double-dealing; deception