D words Flashcards
Decorum***
(n) proper behavior
Default
(v) to fail to act
Deference***
(n) respect; regard for another’s wish
Delineate***
(v) to represent or depict
Demotic***
(adj) pertaining to people
Demur***
(adj) pertaining to people
Denigrate***
(v) to slur someone’s reputation
Denouement***
(n) outcome; unraveling of the plot of a play or work of literature – “day-new-mah”
Deride
(v) to mock
Derivative***
(n) something derived; unoriginal
Desiccate***
(v) to dry completely
Desultory***
(adj) random; disconnected; rambling
Diaphanous
(adj) transparent; fine-textured; insustantial; vague
Diatribe***
(n) bitter verbal attack
Dichotomy***
(n) division into two usually contradictory parts
Diffidence***
(n) shyness; lack of confidence
Diffuse***
(v) to spread out
Dirge
(n) funeral hymn
Disabuse***
(v) to free from a misconception
Discerning
(adj) perceptive; exhibiting keen insight and good judgement
Discomfit
(v) to make uneasy; disconcert – “dis” = not … “com” = comfortable
Discordant***
(adj) not in tune
Discrepancy***
(n) difference between
Discrete***
(adj) constituting a sperate thing; distinct
Disingenuous***
(adj) not candid; crafty
Disinterested***
(adj) unprejudiced; objective
Dismiss***
(v) put away from consideration; reject
Disparage***
(v) to belittle
Disparate***
(adj) dissimilar
Dissemble***
(v) to pretend; disguise one’s motive
Disseminate***
(v) to spread; scatter; disperse
Dissolution***
(n) disintegration; debauchery
Dissonance***
(n) discord; lack of harmony
Distrait
(adj) inattentive; preoccupied
Divest
(v) to strip; deprive; rid – think of “divestment” = to get rid of a certain investment
Divulge
(v) to make known something that is secret
Doctrinaire***
(adj) relating to a person who cannot compromise about points of a theory or doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding
Doggerel
(n) poor verse
Dogmatic***
(adj) stating opinions without proof
Dross
(n) waste; worthless matter; trivial matter
