D Flashcards
Debutante
Noun
Young woman making debut in high society:
The debutante spent hours feeding for her very first ball, hoping to catch the eye of an eligible bachelor.
Synonym: lady ; maiden
Declivity
Noun
Downward slope:
Because the village was situated on the declivity of a hill, it never flooded.
Synonym: decline; slant
Decorous
Adj
Proper, tasteful, socially correct
The countess trained her daughters in the finer points of decorous behavior, hoping they would make a good impression when she presented them at the court.
Synonym: appropriate ; courteous; polite
Decorum
Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety:
The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace.
Synonym: correctness; etiquette; manner;’propriety
Deface
Verb
To mar the appearance of, to vandalize:
After the wall was torn down, the students began to deface the statues of communists leaders of the former eastern bloc.
Synonym: disfigure
Deference
Noun
Respect, courtesy:
The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost deference.
Synonym: honor; veneration
Deleterious
Adj
Subtly or unexpectedly harmful:
If only we had known the clocks were defective before putting them on the market, it wouldn’t have been quite so deleterious to our reputation.
Synonym: Adverse; inimical; hurtful
Demagogue
Noun
A leader, rabble-rouser, usually appealing to emotion or prejudice:
He began his career as a demagogue, giving fiery speeches at political rallies.
Synonym: agitator; inciter; instigator
Demur
Verb
To express doubts or objections:
When scientific authorities claimed that all the planets revolved around the earth, Galileo, with his superior understanding of the situation, was forced to demur.
Synonym: dissent; expostulate; protest
Deride
Verb
To speak of or treat with contempt, mock:
The awkward child was often derided by his ‘cooler’ peers.
Synonym: gibe; ridicule;
Desiccate
Verb
To dry out thoroughly:
After a few weeks lying in the desert, the cows carcass became completely desiccated.
Synonym: dehydrate; parch
Desultory
Adj
Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected:
Lisa had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years.
Synonym: erratic; haphazard
Diaphanous
Adj
Allowing light to show through; delicate:
These diaphanous curtains do nothing to block out the sunlight.
Synonym: gauzy; sheer; translucent
Diatribe
Noun
An abusive; condemnatory speech:
The trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who cut him off.
Synonym: culmination: invective
Dictum
Noun
Authoritative statement:
“You have time to lean, you have time to clean,” was the dictum our boss made us live by.
Synonym: apothegm; aphorism
Diffident
Adj
Lacking self-confidence:
Steve was diffident during the job interview because of his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.
Synonym: timid; shy
Dilate
Verb
To make larger, expand:
When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes dilate so as to let in more light.
Synonym: amplify; enlarge
Dilatory
Adj
Intended to delay; procrastinating:
The congressman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill.
Synonym: putting off
Dilettante
Noun
Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic:
Jett’s friends were such dilettantes they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week.
Synonym: amateur; rookie
Dirge
Noun
A funeral hymn or mournful speech:
The poet wrote the poem “a dirge for james” for the funeral of a union general who was killed in 1864.
Synonym: elegy; lament
Disabuse
Verb
To set right , to free from error:
Scientist’s observations disabused scholars of the notion that wheat could be turned into gold.
Synonym: correct; dismiss
Discern
Verb
To perceive, to recognize:
It is easy to discern the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping.
Synonym : differentiate
Disparate
Adj
Fundamentally different; entirely unlike:
Although the twins are physically identical, their personalities are disparate.
Synonym: different; dissimilar
Dissemble
Verb
To present a false appearance, to disguise one’s real intentions or characters :
The villain could dissemble to the police no longer - he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the stash of stolen money.
Synonym: camouflage; cloak; feign
Dissonance
Noun
A harsh and disagreeable combination, especially sound.
The cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long standing belief are contradicted by new evidence.
Distaff
Noun
The female branch of the family:
The lazy husband refused to cook dinner for his wife, joking that the duty belongs to the distaff’s side.
Distend
Verb
To swell, inflate, bloat:
Her stomach was distended after she forged on the six course meal.
Synonym: broaden, bulge
Dither
Verb
To act confusedly or without clear purpose:
Lisa dithered around her apartment, uncertain how to tackle the family crisis.
Synonym: falter; hesitate; vacillate; waver
Diurnal
Adj
Existing during the day:
Diurnal creatures tend to become inactive during the night.
Synonym: daylight; daytime
Divine
Verb
To foretell or known by inspiration:
The fortune teller divined from the pattern of the tea leaves that her customer would marry five times.
Synonym: auger; intuit; foresee
Doctrinaire
Adj
Rigidly devoted to theories without regard for practicality; dogmatic:
The professor’s manner of teaching was considered doctrinaire for such a liberal school.
Synonym: dictatorial; inflexible
Dogma
Noun
A firmly held opinion, especially a religious belief:
Lisa’s central dogma was that children who believed in the great pumpkin would be rewarded.
Synonym: doctrines; teaching
Dogmatic
Adj
Dictatorial in one’s opinion
Droll
Adj
Amusing in a wry, subtle way:
Although the play couldn’t be described as hilarious, it was certainly droll.
Synonym: comic; entertaining; witty
Dupe
Verb
To deceive
Dyspeptic
Adj
Suffering from indigestion; gloomy and irritable:
The dyspeptic young man cast a gloom over the party the minute he walked in.
Synonym: solemn, sour
Dilapidated
Adj
(of a building or object)in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect:
Although in the same neighborhood, the little brick house seemed dilapidated compared to the ornate new house beside it.
Synonym: shabby
Dexterity
Noun
Skill in performing tasks, esp with the hands:
Her dexterity with piano
Synonym: agility; deftness
Detritus
Noun
Waste or debris of any kind:
Streets are filled with rubble and detritus after the demolition.
Synonym: refuse
Disquiet
Verb
Make someone worried or anxious:
She felt disquieted at the lack of interest the girl had shown.
Synonym: agitate; unsettle
Deprecate
Verb
Express disapproval of:
He sniffed in a deprecating manner.
Synonym: deplore; despise
Dreck
Noun / slang:
Worthless trash; junk:
The digital market is awash with millions of barely edited titles, most of it dreck.
Duress
noun
threats, violence, constraints, or other action brought to bear on someone to do something against their will or better judgement:
He signed the confession under duress
Synonym: coercion; pressure; intimidation
dolorous
adj
feeling or expressing great sorrow of distress:
The hunter can a hear a long-draw dolorous whine of some unseen coyote.
