D Words

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards for D-word entries found in the study material, including definitions and parts of speech.

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 the evidence; to infer

DEFAME

to libel or slander; to ruin the good name of

DEFERENCE

submission to another's will; respect; courtesy

DEFINITIVE

conclusive; providing the 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 who uses prejudice to get more power

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

DESULTORY

without a plan or purpose; disconnected; random

DEXTROUS

skillful; adroit

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

DIDACTIC

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 parts; 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

inactive; as though asleep; asleep

DUBIOUS

full of doubt; uncertain

DUPLICITY

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