D words Flashcards
damson
A small purple-black plumlike fruit.
daunt
to intimidate; to discourage
dawdle
to waste time
deacon
(in Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches) an ordained minister of an order ranking below that of priest.
dearth
scarcity, limited supply, paucity
debase
to reduce in quality or value
debilitate
make (someone) weak and infirm.
déclassé
having fallen in social status.
decorous
proper, socially acceptable
decorum
behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety
decry
to criticize openly, denounce, censure, castigate
defame
to harm the reputation of
deference
giving in to another’s wished or opinion
defile
sully, mar, or spoil.
deforest
clear (an area) of forests or trees.
deign
Do something that one considers to be beneath one’s dignity.
delineated
Describe or portray (something) precisely
denounce
to criticize publicly
deplete
to use up
deplore
to strongly disapprove of
depravity
wickedness, perversion
deprecate
to belittle, express disapproval of, vilify, disparage, castigate, defame
deracinate
tear (something) up by the roots.
deride
express contempt for; ridicule.
derivative
copied or adapted from others
desecrate
to violate the sacredness of
desertification
the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.
despair
hopelessness, pessimism
despondent
depressed, disheartened, morose, melancholy
desultory
aimless, haphazard, unconnected, discursive
devilkin
A little devil
diabolist
Satanist: an adherent of Satan or Satanism.
dialogist
A speaker in, or a writer of, a dialogue.
diaspora
Jews living outside Israel.
diffident
timid, lacking self-confidence
diligent
working devotedly and carefully, meticulous, assiduous
diminish
to make or become smaller, contract, taper
dirge
a lament for the dead, especially one forming part of a funeral rite.
discomfit
make (someone) feel uneasy or embarrassed.
discord
disagreement between people.
discordant
Disagreeing or incongruous.
discrepancy
lack of agreement, difference, discord, disparity
discursive
digressing from subject to subject.
disdain
scorn, contempt
disgruntled
dissatisfied, irritated
disjunctive
Lacking connection; or (of a conjunction) expressing a choice between two mutually exclusive possibilities, for example “she asked if he was going or staying.”
disparage
to put down, to belittle, vilify, defame, deprecate
disparity
difference, discrepancy
dispassionate
calm
dispatch
promptness
disperse
distribute or spread over a wide area.
disseminate
to spread widely
dissent
to disagree
dissipate
to scatter, disappear, disperse
dissonance
disagreement; lack of harmony
dissuade
to discourage; to talk out of
distend
to expand, extend
distillation
The extraction of the essential meaning or most important aspects of something
divalent
having a valence of two.
divisive
tending to cause disagreement or hostility between people.
dogleg
To follow a sharply bending route
dogmatic
stubbornly certain in a belief
dominatrix
a dominating woman, esp. one who takes the sadistic role in sadomasochistic sexual activities.
dormant
asleep, inactive
dowdy
(of a person, typically a woman, or their clothes) unfashionable and without style in appearance.
dubious
doubtful; questionable
duck’s ass
a man’s hairstyle, associated esp. with the 1950s, in which the hair is slicked back on both sides and tapered at the nape
duplicitous
deceitful.
dzo
a hybrid of a cow and a yak
