D-2 Flashcards
1
Q
dilate
A
expand (Eg: In the dark- the pupils of your eyes dilate. )
2
Q
dilatory
A
delaying (Eg: Your dilatory tactics may compel me to cancel the contract. )
3
Q
dilemma
A
problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives (Eg: In this dilemma- he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice. )
4
Q
dilettante
A
aimless follower of the arts; amateur; dabbler (Eg: He was not serious in his painting; he was rather a dilettante. )
5
Q
diligence
A
steadiness of effort; persisten hard work (Eg: Her employers were greatly impressed by her diligence and offered her a partnership in the firm. )
6
Q
dilute
A
make less concentrated; reduce in strength (Eg: She preferred her coffee diluted with milk. )
7
Q
diminution
A
lessening; reduction in size (Eg: The blockaders hoped to achieve victory as soon as the diminution of the enemy’s supplies became serious. )
8
Q
din
A
continued loud noise (Eg: The din of the jackhammers outside the classroom window drowned out the lecturer’s voice. )
9
Q
dinghy
A
small boat (often ship’s boat) (Eg: In the film Lifeboat- an ill-assorted group of passengers from a sunken ocean liner are marooned at sea in a )
10
Q
dingy
A
dull; not fresh; cheerless (Eg: Refusing to be depressed by her dingy studio apartment- Bea spent the weekend polishing the floors and )
11
Q
dint
A
means; effort (Eg: By dint of much hard work- the volunteers were able to control the raging forest fire. )
12
Q
diorama
A
like-size- three-dimensional scene from nature or history (Eg: Because they dramatically pose actual stuffed animals against realistic painted landscapes- the dioramas at )
13
Q
dire
A
disastrous (Eg: People ignored her dire predictions of an approaching depression. )
14
Q
dirge
A
lament with music (Eg: The funeral dirge stirred us to tears. )
15
Q
disabuse
A
correct a false impression; undeceive (Eg: I will attempt to diabuse you of your impression of my client’s guilt; I know he is innocent. )
16
Q
disaffected
A
disloyal (Eg: Once the most loyal of Gorbachev’s supporters- Shverdnaze found himself becoming increasingly )
17
Q
disapprobation
A
disapproval; condemnation (Eg: The conservative father viewed his daughter’s radical boyfriend with disapprobation. )
18
Q
disarray
A
a disorderly or untidy state (Eg: After the New Year’s party- the once orderly house was in total disarray. )
19
Q
disavowal
A
denial; disclaiming (Eg: His disavowal of his part in the conspiracy was not believed by the jury. )
20
Q
disband
A
dissolve; disperse (Eg: The chess club disbanded after its disastrous initial season. )
21
Q
disburse
A
pay out (Eg: When you disburse money on the company’s behalf- be sure to get a receipt. )
22
Q
discernible
A
distinguishable; perceivable (Eg: The ships in the harbor were not discernible in the fog. )
23
Q
discerning
A
mentally quick and observant; having insight (Eg: Because he was considered the most discerning member of the firm- he was assigned the most difficult )
24
Q
disclaim
A
disown; renounce claim to (Eg: If I grant you this previlege- will you disclaim all other rights? )
25
disclose
reveal (Eg: Although competitors offered him bribes- he refused to disclose any information about his company's )
26
discombobulated
confused; discomposed (Eg: The novice square dancer became so discombobulated that he wandered into wrong set. )
27
discomfit
put to rout; defeat; disconcert (Eg: This ruse will discomfit the enemy. )
28
disconcert
confuse; upset; embarrass (Eg: The lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary. )
29
disconcolate
sad (Eg: The death of his wife left him disconsolate. )
30
discordant
inharmonious; conflicting (Eg: She tried to unite the discordant factions. )
31
discount
disregard (Eg: Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife. )
32
discourse
formal disscussion; conversation (Eg: The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers. )
33
discredit
defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve (Eg: )
34
discrepancy
lack of consistency; difference (Eg: The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him. )
35
discrete
separate; unconnected (Eg: The universe is composed of discrete bodies. )
36
discretion
prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances (Eg: Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone. )
37
discrimination
ability to see differences; prejudice (Eg: They feared he lacked sufficient discrimination to judge complex works of modern art. )
38
discursive
digressing; rambling (Eg: They were annoyed and bored by her discursive remarks. )
39
disdain
treat with scorn or contempt (Eg: You make enemies of all you disdain. )
40
disembark
go ashore; unload cargo from a ship (Eg: Before the passengers could disembark- they had to pick up their passports from the ship's purser. )
41
disenfranchise
deprive of a civil right (Eg: The imposition if the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern blacks- who lost their right to vote. )
42
disengage
uncouple; separate; disconnect (Eg: A standard movie routine involves the hero's desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving )
43
disfigure
mar the appearance of; spoil (Eg: An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face. )
44
disgorge
surrender something; efect; vomit (Eg: Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund- the embezzler tried to run away. )
45
disgruntle
make discontented (Eg: The passengers were disgruntled by the numerous delays. )
46
dishearten
discourage (Eg: His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him. )
47
disheveled
untidy (Eg: Your disheveled appearance will hurt your chances in this interview. )
48
disinclination
unwilingness (Eg: Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed. )
49
disingenuous
not naive; sophisticated (Eg: )
50
disinter
dig up; unearth (Eg: They disinterred the body and held an autopsy. )
51
disinterested
unprejudiced (Eg: The only disinterested person in the room was the judge. )
52
disjointed
disconnected (Eg: His remarks were so disjointed that we could not follow his reasoning. )
53
dislodge
remove (forcible) (Eg: Thrusting her fist up under the choking man's lower ribs- Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to )
54
dismantle
take apart (Eg: When the show closed- they dismantled the scenery before restoring it. )
55
dismember
cut into small parts (Eg: When the Austrian Empire was dismembered- several new countries were established. )
56
dismiss
eliminate from consideration; reject (Eg: Believing in John's love for her- she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful. )
57
disparage
belittle (Eg: Do not disparage anyone's contribution; these little gifts add up to large sums. )
58
disparate
basically different; unrelated (Eg: It is difficult- if not impossible- to organize these disparate elements into a coherent whole. )
59
disparity
difference; condition of inequality (Eg: The disparity in their ages made no difference at all. )
60
dispassionate
calm; impartial (Eg: In a dispassionate analysis of the problem- he carefully examined the causes of the conflict and proceeded )
61
dispatch
speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed (Eg: Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters- )
62
dispel
scatter; drive away; cause to vanish (Eg: The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist. )
63
disperse
scatter (Eg: The police fired tear gas into crowd to disperse the protesters. )
64
dispirited
lacking in spirit (Eg: The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team- which I had become )
65
disport
amuse (Eg: The popularity of Florida as a winter resort is constantly increasing; each year- thousands more disport )
66
disputatious
argumentative; fond of argument (Eg: People avoided discussing contemporary problems with him because of his disputatious manner. )
67
disquisition
a formal systematic inquiry; an explanation of the results of a formal inquiry (Eg: In his disquisition- he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions. )
68
dissection
analysis; cutting apart in order to examine (Eg: The dissection of frogs on the laboratory is particularly unpleasant to some students. )
69
dissemble
disguise; pretend (Eg: Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance- we all knew there not to dance )
70
disseminate
scatter (like seeds) (Eg: The invention of the radio helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily. )
71
dissent
disagree (Eg: In a landmark Supreme Court decision- Justice Marshall dissented from the majority opinion. )
72
dissertation
formal essay (Eg: In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities- a candidate is frequently required to )
73
dissident
dissenting; rebellious (Eg: In the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square- the government hunted down )
74
dissimulate
pretend; conceal by feigning (Eg: She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude. )
75
dissipate
squander (Eg: The young man quickly dissipated his inheritance and was soon broke. )
76
dissolution
disintegration; looseness in morals (Eg: The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's Rome appall some historians. )
77
dissonance
discord (Eg: Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects. )
78
dissuade
advise against (Eg: He could not dissuade his friend from joining the conspirators. )
79
distant
reserved or aloof; cold in manner (Eg: )
80
distend
expand;swell out (Eg: I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead. )
81
distill
purify; refine; concentrate (Eg: A moonshiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist distills thoughts into quips. )
82
distortion
twisting out of shape (Eg: It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations )
83
distrait
absentminded (Eg: Because of his concentration on the problem- the professor often appeared distrait and unconcerned about )
84
distraught
upset; distracted by anxiety (Eg: The distraught parents frantically searched the ravine for their lost child. )
85
diurnal
daily (Eg: A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows- for example- must be milked regularly. )
86
diva
operatic singer; prima donna (Eg: Although world famous as a diva- she did not indulge in fits of temerament. )
87
diverge
vary; go in different directionsfrom the same point (Eg: The spokes of the wheel diverge from the hub. )
88
divergent
differing; deviating (Eg: The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkably divergent accounts of the same epipode. )
89
diverse
differing in some characteristics; various (Eg: There are diverse ways of approaching this problem. )
90
diversion
act of turning aside; pastime (Eg: After studying for several hours- he needed a diversion from work. )
91
diversity
variety; dissimilitude (Eg: The diversity of colleges in this country indicates that many levels of ability are being served. )
92
divest
strip; deprive (Eg: He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern. )
93
divine
perceive intuitively; foresee the future (Eg: Nothing infuriated Tom more than Aunt Polly's ability to divine when he was not telling the truth. )
94
divulge
reveal (Eg: I will not tell you this news because I am sure you will divulge it prematurely. )
95
docile
obedient; easily managed (Eg: As docile as he seems today- that old lion was once a ferocious- snarling beast. )
96
docket
program asfor trial; book where such entries are made (Eg: The case of Smith v. Jones was entered in the docket for July 15. )
97
doctrinaire
unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding (Eg: Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China- but the )
98
document
provide written evidence (Eg: She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm. )
99
doddering
shaky; infirm from old age (Eg: Although he is not as yet a doddering and senile old man- his ideas and opinions no longer can merit the )
100
doff
take off (Eg: A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady. )
101
dogged
determined;stubborn (Eg: Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long- dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean. )
102
doggerel
poorverse (Eg: Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work- most of her writing is mere doggerel. )
103
dogmatic
positive; arbitrary (Eg: Do not be so dogmatic about that statement; it can be easily refuted. )
104
doldrums
blues; listlessness; slack period (Eg: Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over- she found herself in the doldrums. )
105
dolorous
sorrowfrl (Eg: He found the dolorous lamentations of the bereaved family emotionally disturbing and he left as quickly as )
106
dolt
stupid person (Eg: I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead- I find myself addressing a pack of dolts. )
107
domicile
home (Eg: Althoughhis legal domicile was in New York City- his work kept him away from his residence for many )
108
domineer
rule over tyrannically (Eg: Students prefer teachers who guide- not ones who domineer. )
109
don
put on (Eg: When Clark Kent had to don his Superman outfit- he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth. )
110
dormant
sleeping; lethargic; torpid (Eg: Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize how gifted our )
111
dormer
window projecting from roof (Eg: In remodeling the attic into a bedroom- we decided that we needed to put in dormers to provide sufficient )
112
dorsal
relating to the back of an animal (Eg: A shark may be identified by its dorsal fin- which projects above the surface of the ocean. )
113
dossier
file of documents on a subject (Eg: Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator- the FBI compiled a complete dossier. )
114
dotage
senility (Eg: In his dotage- the old man bored us with long tales of events in his childhood. )
115
dote
be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline (Eg: Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the )
116
dour
sullen; stubborn (Eg: The man was dour abd taciturn. )
117
douse
plunge into water; drench; extinguish (Eg: They doused each other with hoses and balloons. )
118
dowdy
slovenly; untidy (Eg: She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe. )
119
downcast
disheartened; sad (Eg: Cheerful and optimistic by nature- Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced. )
120
drab
dull; lacking color; cheerless (Eg: The Dutch woman's drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive- colorful native costume she wore )
121
dregs
sediment; worthless residue (Eg: David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs. )
122
droll
queer and amusing (Eg: He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining. )
123
drone
idle person; male bee (Eg: Content to let his wife support him- the would-be writer was in reality nothing but a drone. )
124
drone
talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee (Eg: On a gorgeous day- who wants to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teacher drone? )
125
dross
waste matter; worhtless impurities (Eg: Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross. )
126
drudgery
menial work (Eg: Cinderella's fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery. )
127
dubious
doubtful (Eg: He has the dubious distinction of being the lowest man in his class. )
128
ductility
malleability; flexibility; ability to be drawn out (Eg: Copper wire has many industrial uses because of its extreme ductility. )
129
dulcet
sweet sounding (Eg: The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel. )
130
dupe
someone easily fooled (Eg: While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties- Sherlock Holmes was far more )
131
deplicity
double-dealing; hypocrisy (Eg: People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair- as he had always )
132
duress
forcible restraint- especially unlawfully (Eg: The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners' demands were met. )
133
dutiful
respectful; obedient (Eg: The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult aware of his civic obligations. )
134
dwindle
shrink; reduce (Eg: They spent so much money that their funds dwindled to nothing. )
135
dynamic
active; efficient (Eg: A dynamic government is necessary to meet the demands of a changing society. )
136
dyspeptic
suffering from indigestion (Eg: All the talk about rich food made him feel dyspeptic. )
