DEF - vocab Flashcards
daunt
cause to lose courage - [v]
The Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz appeared at first to be easily daunted, but, in fact, he showed unusual courage. Still, his efforts to daunt Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man were less than successful.
When bringing a new kitten home you don’t want to daunt it by forcing it out of its carrier too soon—open the door and let it come out when it’s ready. Daunt means to frighten or scare off and, conveniently, it rhymes with haunt, another word which means to frighten, thought in a creepier sense. Daunt often shows up as part of the adjective undaunted, which describes someone who remains unafraid or perseveres in the face of scary circumstances.
dearth
an insufficient quantity or number - [n]an acute insufficiency - [n]
If there is a dearth of something, there is not enough of it. A dearth of affordable housing is bad, but a dearth of bed bugs is a blessing.
Dearth is an Old English noun formed from the adjective deore “precious, costly” and the noun-forming suffix -th. Though the relationship of dearth meaning “lack, insufficient amount” to the adjective dear is not so obvious, it is still easy to imagine that something precious is probably also in short supply. Dearth is used almost exclusively in the phrase “a dearth of.”
decorum
propriety in manners and conduct - [n]
Decorum is proper and polite behavior. If you let out a big belch at a fancy dinner party, you’re not showing much decorum.
This noun is from Latin decōrus “proper, becoming, handsome,” from décor “beauty, grace,” which is also the source of English décor. The corresponding adjective is decorous, meaning “well-behaved in a particular situation.” Both decorum and decorous are often used to describe behavior in a classroom or courtroom.
defame
charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone - [v]
The journalists have defamed me!” “The article in the paper sullied my reputation”
Even though Joan Jett sang about not minding her bad reputation, most of us don’t want others to defame us. To defame is to gossip, even if the story is made-up, with the goal of hurting someone’s image.
We usually think of fame as a positive thing. Love, admiration, and people wanting to be like you — it all comes with the territory. The de- in defame means “remove.” So if someone tries to defame a person, fame — or a good reputation — is taken away. Celebrities protect themselves from those who want to defame them, arming themselves with lawyers.
default
an option that is selected automatically unless an alternative is specified - [n]loss due to not showing up - [n]
he lost the game by default
As a setting, a default is automatic. You weren’t sure why your new TV kept returning to the factory defaults until you realized you were sitting on the remote.
Default can also refer to a lack of other options. You shop at Green’s by default; it’s the only grocery store in town. Default is also a failure to pay a financial obligation. The number of loan defaults was down this month. As a verb, it means “to fail to pay.” Your credit score will go down if you default on a loan.
defer
yield to another’s wish or opinion - [v]hold back to a later time - [v]
Defer means to put off or delay. You can try to defer the inevitable by pushing “snooze” and falling back asleep, but eventually you’re going to have to get up.
If you’re excellent at pushing things to a later date and a master at procrastination, then you already know how to defer. But defer can also mean to comply with another person’s opinion or wishes. So when your boss finds out you deferred your work to shop online instead, you should probably defer when she asks you to come in and finish everything up over the weekend.
deference
courteous regard for people’s feelings - [n]a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard - [n]a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others - [n]
in deference to your wishes
“his deference to her wishes was very flattering”
Sure you wear ripped jeans to school every day, but you don’t wear them to your grandmother’s house out of deference to her. When you show deference to someone, you make a gesture of respect.
The noun deference goes with the verb defer, which means “to yield to someone’s opinions or wishes out of respect for that person.” If you and your dad disagree about the best route to the grocery store, you might defer to him, and take his route. You’re taking his route out of deference to his opinion and greater experience.
defunct
no longer in force or use; inactive - [adj]having ceased to exist or live - [adj]
a defunct law
“a defunct organization”
“the will of a defunct aunt”
Defunct describes something that used to exist, but is now gone. A magazine that no longer publishes, like Sassy, the girl-power mag from the ’90s, is defunct, for example.
Although defunct comes from the Latin word defunctus meaning “dead,” it’s not usually used to describe a person who’s no longer with us, but rather institutions, projects, companies and political parties — you know, the boring stuff. Keep digging and you’ll find that defunctus comes from defungi, meaning, “to finish,” which is closer to how it’s used today. Defunct can also refer to a rule or law that’s no longer used or has become inactive, like prohibition.
delineate
represented accurately or precisely - [adj]show the form or outline of - [v]trace the shape of - [v]make a mark or lines on a surface - [v]determine the essential quality of - [v]
Though you pronounce it duh-LIN-ee-ate, there is a “line” in the middle of delineate. This might help you remember that to delineate is to outline and define something in detail or with an actual marking of lines and boundaries.
When you create an outline for a paper it usually summarizes what you will detail later. You delineate the sections, or mark the heading lines, and when you write the details, you delineate the subject of each heading. So, to delineate is both to mark lines and to fill in the lines. Using a fence to divide properties or a carpet to claim your side of the bedroom also is a way to delineate, or mark, physical boundaries.
demographic
a statistic characterizing human populations (or segments of human populations broken down by age or sex or income etc.) - [n]of or relating to demography - [adj]
demographic surveys
Advertising agencies like to schedule their commercials in television shows that appeal to the 18-49 demographic, because this segment of the population has a lot of spending power.
Demographic is a word companies use when they’re trying to sell their products to a particular group of consumers. A movie studio that wants to promote its new film, “Revenge of the Senior Kitties,” might aim for the 65-to-85-year-old cat-lover . A demographic can consist of people who are in the same age group, such as 18-to-29-year-olds, or ethnic group, such as African-Americans.
demotic
of or for the common people - [adj]
demotic entertainments
“demotic speech”
“a poet with a keen ear for demotic rhythms”
A demotic saying or expression is casual, colloquial, and used by the masses. Some forms of the Greek and Egyptian languages are also called demotic, which will be relevant to you when you get your PhD in Classics.
Demotic comes from the Greek word demotikos, meaning “of or for the common people” or “in common use.” Members of the aristocracy don’t typically use demotic idioms, but it is often the elite who will point out that something is demotic. Of course, in a classless society, everything ought to be demotic, therefore making it obsolete to designate sayings as demotic. So far, however, demotic is still a relevant term.
demur
take exception to - [v](law) a formal objection to an opponent’s pleadings - [n]enter a demurrer - [v]
he demurred at my suggestion to work on Saturday
Your mother asks you to pick up your room. You refuse: you demur. Your friend wants to go to the Death Metal Forever concert, but you hesitate: you demur. Whether you strongly object, politely disagree, or hesitate to agree, you demur.
If Aunt Tilly offers to knit you a sweater, you might politely demur, being reluctant to accept. When she describes the bunnies she plans for the sweater, you would want to strongly demur, explaining that you plan to move to Texas next week and will no longer need sweaters. And if you find yourself the defendant in a civil suit, you might file a demurrer to object to the plaintiff’s complaint. When you file that demurrer, you demur.
denigrate
charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone - [v]cause to seem less serious; play down - [v]
To denigrate is to say bad things — true or false — about a person or thing. Your reputation as a math whiz might be hurt if your jealous classmate manages to denigrate you, even though the accusations are unfounded.
The verb denigrate comes from the Latin word denigrare, which means “to blacken.” To sully or defame someone’s reputation, or to spread negative or hurtful information about a company or a situation, is to denigrate it. Your neighbors may denigrate your proposal for mandatory recycling in an attempt to stop your plan. Denigrate can also mean that you’re making something seem less important, like when your brother tries to denigrate your athletic achievements.
denizen
a plant or animal naturalized in a region - [n]a person who inhabits a particular place - [n]
denizens of field and forest
“denizens of the deep”
A denizen is an inhabitant or frequenter of a particular place: a citizen of a country, a resident in a neighborhood, a maven of a museum, a regular at a bar, or, even, a plant that is naturalized in a region.
The noun denizen comes from words that mean “from” and “within” and is related to “citizen.” Denizen can be used when talking about any person or group of people that have a specific relationship with a place. It was historically used to refer to foreigners who were either naturalized or becoming citizens but now it is used much more generally, as in: “The denizens of my aunt’s neighborhood all have contracts with the same gardener.”
denouement
the outcome of a complex sequence of events - [n]the final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work - [n]
You know that part of every movie after the big action scene, where things get explained, and the characters tie up loose ends? That’s called the denouement, or the showing of how the plot eventually turns out.
Denouement is a French word that literally means the action of untying, from a verb meaning to untie. The English word is pronounced like the French: day-noo-MON. The last syllable has a nasalized vowel instead of the n sound. You can use it outside the context of plays or novels, too: you might describe the denouement of an argument between two friends.
deride
treat or speak of with contempt - [v]
He derided his student’s attempt to solve the biggest problem in mathematics
The verb deride means to show a low opinion of someone or something. The jerk would deride the other kids on the bus by calling them names or pulling their hair until the driver decided to de-ride him by kicking him off the bus.
To “ride” people is to get on their case or give them a hard time, and to deride is to do the same with insulting language or poor treatment. Deride comes from the Latin root dērīdēre, meaning “to ridicule, to scorn,” and it’s often used to express dislike or even hatred. Criticizing something with words is a common way to deride, and politicians often deride each other in their speeches during election campaigns.
derivative
a compound obtained from, or regarded as derived from, another compound - [n]the result of mathematical differentiation; the instantaneous change of one quantity relative to another; df(x)/dx - [n]a financial instrument whose value is based on another security - [n](linguistics) a word that is derived from another word - [n]resulting from or employing derivation - [adj]
electricity' is a **derivative** of electric’
“a derivative process”
“a highly derivative prose style”
Alert: shifting parts of speech! As a noun, a derivative is kind of financial agreement or deal. As an adjective, though, derivative describes something that borrows heavily from something else that came before it.
The economic meltdown of the last decade is due largely to the mismanagement of derivatives, which are deals based on the outcome of other deal. A movie plot might be described as derivative if it steals from another film — say, if it lifts the tornado, the witch, and the dancing scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz.
desiccate
lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless - [adj]remove water from - [v]lose water or moisture - [v]preserve by removing all water and liquids from - [v]
a desiccate romance
The verb desiccate means to dry out, dry up and dehydrate. It’s helpful to desiccate weeds but certainly not crops.
As anyone who’s been stuck in the desert will tell you, being desiccated by the burning sun isn’t much fun. Stemming from the Latin word desiccare, which means to “dry up,” desiccate also means to preserve something by drying it out. Without desiccation, raisins or beef jerky would not be possible!
desultory
marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another - [adj]
desultory thoughts
“the desultory conversation characteristic of cocktail parties”
If you lack a definite plan or purpose and flit from one thing to another, your actions are desultory. Some people call such desultory wanderings spontaneous. Others call it “being lost.”
The adjective desultory comes from the word desultor, which was a circus rider who would leap from the back of one galloping horse onto another. From this literal sense of jumping from one thing to another, we get the modern meaning of desultory as jumping between things without a logical purpose.
deterrent
something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress - [n]tending to deter - [adj]
the deterrent effects of high prices
A deterrent makes you not want to do something. Let’s say there’s a giant pile of cookies being guarded by an angry dog — the dog is a deterrent.
People talk about deterrents most often when discussing crime. The death penalty is supposed to be a deterrent — the idea is that people will be so scared of the death penalty that they won’t commit certain crimes. Jail is another deterrent. Teachers also use deterrents — the possibility of getting detention is a deterrent that should encourage students to behave. A deterrent is the opposite of a reward. A reward encourages you to do the right thing, while a deterrent discourages you from doing the wrong thing.
detraction
a petty disparagement - [n]the act of discrediting or detracting from someone’s reputation (especially by slander) - [n]
let it be no detraction from his merits to say he is plainspoken
A detraction is the opposite of an attraction––it is something bad about someone or something. If you love peace and quiet and you’re thinking about buying a house, a location on a major road would be a detraction.
Detraction comes from detract, which means to diminish, or to speak badly of someone or something. If you run for office, it is bad form to spew detractions of your opponent’s character. Unfortunately, this is exactly how many political campaigns work. Detractions can also be interferences. The noise of the party next door might be a detraction from your attention while you’re studying.
diaphanous
so thin as to transmit light - [adj]
a hat with a diaphanous veil
If a dress is so see-through that light shines through it revealing the goods beneath, it’s diaphanous. Also known as “sheer,” “transparent,” or just plain “sexy,” but diaphanous is so much classier.
If you want a classic example of diaphanous clothing check out all those nineteenth century Romantic paintings of voluptuous Goddesses clad in clearly insufficient lightweight gowns flouncing around in the middle of forests at night or storm-tossed fields. Those gowns are diaphanous all right, but because it’s a classical allusion there’s obviously nothing naughty about it. From the ancient Greek word diaphanes, meaning “transparent” — a style the Greeks were much in favor of.
diatribe
thunderous verbal attack - [n]
It’s totally overwhelming when you ask someone a seemingly innocuous question, like “Do you like hot dogs?” and they unleash a diatribe about the evils of eating meat. A diatribe is an angry speech that strongly criticizes a person or thing.
This noun is from Latin diatriba “learned discourse,” from Greek diatribē “pastime, lecture,” from diatrībein “to waste time, wear away,” from the prefix dia- “thoroughly” plus trībein “to rub.” So the origin of the word diatribe is connected to both serious study and the spending or wasting of time. In English, the original meaning of diatribe was a long and formal debate or discussion.
dichotomy
being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses - [n]
the dichotomy between eastern and western culture
A dichotomy is an idea or classification split in two. When you point out a dichotomy, you draw a clear distinction between two things.
A dichotomy is a contrast between two things. When there are two ideas, especially two opposed ideas — like war and peace, or love and hate — you have a dichotomy. You often hear about a “false dichotomy,” which occurs when a situation is unfairly represented as an “either/or” scenario. For example, the statement “All cars are either small and efficient or large and polluting” creates a false dichotomy because there are some cars that don’t fit into either category.
diffidence
lack of self-confidence - [n]
The noun diffidence refers to a lack of self-confidence. Your diffidence might be the reason why you never say “hi” to the cute guy or gal in the elevator or why you never ask for a raise.
The noun diffidence comes from the Latin word diffidere meaning “to mistrust” or “to lack confidence.” Diffidence is often mistaken for snootiness because people don’t understand that the diffident person is shy and lacking in confidence. “They asked him to be the team leader, but he expressed diffidence, saying that he didn’t think he had enough time to do the job justice, nor did he think he had enough experience.”
diffuse
spread out; not concentrated in one place - [adj]lacking conciseness - [adj](of light) transmitted from a broad light source or reflected - [adj]move outward - [v]spread or diffuse through - [v]
a large diffuse organization
“a diffuse historical novel”
Diffuse mean spread out, or the action of spreading out. If lots of people in school believe invisible angels are everywhere, you could say that opinion is diffuse. You might even think angels are diffuse as well.
As a verb, diffuse means to spread something out, but also applies to spreading things such as ideas or culture so that they become widely known. When something is diffused, it’s mixed in, and when you drop propaganda pamphlets out of airplanes you’re diffusing the propaganda. The adjective comes from Latin diffusus, from diffundere “to pour in different directions,” from the prefix dis- “apart” plus fundere “to pour.”
digression
a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern) - [n]wandering from the main path of a journey - [n]a message that departs from the main subject - [n]
a digression into irrelevant details
When your essay about French cooking starts describing a childhood trip to Disneyland, it’s taken a digression — it’s strayed from the main topic.
But I digress is a phrase often used by people when they realize they’re no longer “on-topic.” A digression is like a tangent, only digression often describes speech patterns, whereas tangent comes to us from mathematics. Another trick to remembering the meaning of digression is its relationship to the word progression. A progression is a series of ideas which proceeds in the same direction; a digression, logically enough, is an idea that goes off in another direction.
dirge
a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person - [n]
A dirge is a song of mourning, performed as a memorial to someone who’s died. As you might imagine, a dirge is usually quite sad. Another word with a similar meaning that you might know is “requiem.”
The noun dirge comes from the Latin dirige, which means “direct,” and is the beginning of a prayer that translates as “Direct my way in your sight, O Lord my God.” Dirge can still have a religious meaning, but it can also be any sad and mournful song, poem, or hymn composed or performed in memory of someone who has died. You can also say that something mournful sounds like a dirge, using the word in a more poetic sense.
disabuse
free somebody (from an erroneous belief) - [v]
- Disabuse* means to free someone of a belief that is not true. Many teachers of health find that when they teach, they spend as much energy disabusing kids of false beliefs as they do giving them the facts.
- Disabuse* is often connected to the word notion or idea. In singing lessons, you must disabuse young singers of the idea that they can sing better by singing louder. In the first year of college, many people are disabused of the idea that they way they are is “normal,” by meeting so many people who represent other ways to be.
discerning
having or revealing keen insight and good judgment - [adj]quick to understand - [adj]unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic - [adj]able to make or detect effects of great subtlety; sensitive - [adj]
a discerning critic
“a discerning reader”
“a discerning editor”
- Discerning* people pick up on subtle traits and are good judges of quality — they’re the ones that can tell if your cupcakes are homemade from the finest ingredients or totally from a box mix.
- Discerning* is an adjective that comes from the Old French discerner, meaning to “distinguish (between), separate (by sifting).” Which makes sense, because someone with discerning tastes or a discerning eye is good at distinguishing the good from the bad and sifting out the gems from the junk. If you’re an ace at picking out fabulous fabrics, accessories, and shoes when you get dressed each morning, you probably have discerning fashion sense.
discomfit
cause to lose one’s composure - [v]
To discomfit someone is to make them feel uncomfortable or upset. An easy way to discomfit another person is to use the age-old, childish trick of ignoring them. (Of course, we’re sure you would never do that, right? Right?)
If you make someone blush, sweat, and generally want to disappear, you’ve discomfited her. Centuries ago, discomfit was used to mean “destroy completely in battle” — an experience that surely left the defeated armies feeling something more than mere discomfort. Some scholars have suggested that the contemporary meaning of discomfit arose due to confusion with the word discomfort. Don’t be discomfited by choosing the wrong word; use this word to mean “embarrass.”
discordant
not in agreement or harmony - [adj]lacking in harmony - [adj]
views discordant with present-day ideas
If you believe that movies should entertain, but your friend insists that movies should inspire, then the two of you hold discordant views on the purpose of movies. That means your opinions are in conflict.
You can see the word discord in discordant. Discord is tension felt between people who strongly disagree about something. So discordant describes experiencing discord, a lack of harmony. A discordant conversation at your dinner table may make some people upset — they want everyone to get along. Discordant can also describe harsh and unpleasant sounds, like the blaring horns in city traffic.
discredit
the state of being held in low esteem - [n]damage the reputation of - [v]reject as false; refuse to accept - [v]cause to be distrusted or disbelieved - [v]
your actions will bring discredit to your name
“This newspaper story discredits the politicians”
“The paper discredited the politician with its nasty commentary”
Discredit means to cause mistrust or cast the accuracy of something into doubt. If you say that schooling is important to you, but you never study, your actions discredit you and your words.
You discredit what someone says when you choose not to believe it. You can discredit the rumors going around about your boyfriend if you are sure of his love. On a more personal level, you discredit people when you cast their authority or reputation into doubt. If you’re running a tough race for class president, your opponent may try to discredit you by talking about your failures or even making up lies about you. But this would be to the discredit of your opponent — his or her own reputation would suffer for this bad behavior.
discrepancy
a difference between conflicting facts or claims or opinions - [n]an event that departs from expectations - [n]
A discrepancy is a lack of agreement or balance. If there is a discrepancy between the money you earned and the number on your paycheck, you should complain to your boss.
There is a discrepancy when there is a difference between two things that should be alike. For example, there can be a wide discrepancy or a slight discrepancy between two objects, stories, or facts. The noun discrepancy is from Latin discrepare “to sound differently,” from the prefix dis- “from” plus crepare “to rattle, creak.”
discrete
constituting a separate entity or part - [adj]
a government with three discrete divisions
Discrete means separate or divided. A discrete unit is a separate part of something larger. A room is a discrete space within a house, just as the transmission is a discrete part of a car engine.
If something is discrete, it has its own space. An ice cube comes from an ice tray, but it has its own discrete compartment. A student government might have discrete committees for different projects. Don’t confuse discrete with its close cousin discreet, which means “appropriately private.” Billionaire Bruce Wayne, for example, is very discreet about his secret life as Batman. You could say Batman is a discrete, or separate, part of Bruce Wayne’s identity. Anything distinct and separated is discrete.
discretion
the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies - [n]freedom to act or judge on one’s own - [n]the trait of judging wisely and objectively - [n]knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress - [n]refined taste; tact - [n]
the servants showed great tact and discretion
If you have the freedom to decide something on your own, the decision is left to your discretion. You’re in charge.
Discretion traces back to the Latin verb discernere “to separate, to discern” from the prefix dis- “off, away” plus cernere “separate, sift.” If you use discretion, you sift away what is not desirable, keeping only the good. If you have the freedom to choose, something is “at your discretion.” Watch out when you hear the phrase, “viewer discretion advised” on TV or at the movies, you will be watching something quite violent or explicitly sexual.
disingenuous
not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness - [adj]
an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who…exemplified…the most disagreeable traits of his time”- David Cannadine”
“a disingenuous excuse”
Use the adjective disingenuous to describe behavior that’s not totally honest or sincere. It’s disingenuous when people pretend to know less about something than they really do.
Disingenuous combines dis-, meaning not, with ingenuous (from the Latin gen-, meaning born) which was originally used to distinguish free-born Romans from slaves, and later came to mean honest or straightforward. So disingenuous means dishonest. Ingenuous is less common now than disingenuous, but we still use it for someone who is sincere to the point of naiveté. A good synonym is insincere.
disinterested
unaffected by self-interest - [adj]
If you can’t decide whether to purchase the shirt with orange polka dots or the purple paisley-patterned one, you might seek input from a disinterested, or unbiased, party (who will probably tell you not to buy either one).
Depending on whom you ask, disinterested is either one of the most commonly misused words in the English language, or a perfect example of usage experts and English teachers being way too uptight. While everyone agrees that disinterested can mean “unbiased,” the debate rages on as to whether it can also mean “uninterested” or “indifferent.” Sticklers are vehemently opposed to this secondary meaning. (Of course, you’ll also find the disinterested — or uninterested? — folks who couldn’t care less.)
disjointed
taken apart at the joints - [adj]separated at the joint - [adj]lacking orderly continuity - [adj]
a disjointed fowl
- Disjointed* isn’t when you can bend your thumb all the way backwards — that’s double-jointed. Disjointed means “unorganized” or “disconnected.”
- Disjointed* is an adjective that describes something as disconnected, illogical, or just messed up. A disjointed argument is an argument that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The same can be said for a disjointed sentence or a disjointed speech. In a medical sense, disjointed means “dislocated,” or “separated at the joint.” When someone gets injured, they may end up with a disjointed shoulder or a disjointed hip.
dismiss
stop associating with - [v]bar from attention or consideration - [v]end one’s encounter with somebody by causing or permitting the person to leave - [v]cease to consider; put out of judicial consideration - [v]terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position - [v]
She dismissed his advances
“I was dismissed after I gave my report”
“This case is dismissed!”
At the end of a lesson period, your teacher says, “class dismissed.” This means that you and the rest of the students are free to go.
Dismiss means to let go. If a judge dismisses a case, it means he’s saying it has no merit, and is throwing it out of court. If you are dismissed from your job, it means you’ve been fired. And if you’ve been ignoring your friends’ warnings that your boyfriend is cheating, you’ve been dismissing their concerns. “Don’t dismiss me!” is something you say when the person you’re talking to is not taking you and your comments seriously.
disparage
express a negative opinion of - [v]
She disparaged her student’s efforts
If you haven’t got anything nice to say, then it’s time to disparage someone. It means to belittle or degrade a person or idea.
Disparage is a specific way to describe a certain kind of insult, the kind that secures the insulter’s place as superior. It often refers to an opinion or criticism lobbed in print or via word of mouth, not necessarily an act done to someone’s face. If someone or something is being disparaged, you will often find a competing interest in the wings.
disparate
fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind - [adj]including markedly dissimilar elements - [adj]
such disparate attractions as grand opera and game fishing
“disparate ideas”
“a disparate aggregate of creeds and songs and prayers”
The trunk of some people’s cars may contain items as disparate as old clothes, rotting food, and possibly a missing relative. Disparate things are very different from each other.
Near synonyms are unequal and dissimilar. The adjective disparate is from Latin disparātus, from disparāre “to separate, divide,” from the prefix dis- “apart” plus parāre “to prepare.” Disparate in the sense of “very different” probably developed by association with the Latin adjective dispar “unequal, different.”
dissemble
behave unnaturally or affectedly - [v]make believe with the intent to deceive - [v]hide under a false appearance - [v]
To dissemble is to hide under a false appearance, to deceive. “When confronted about their human rights record, the Chinese government typically dissembles.”
Dissemble is a little more complicated than a straight lie or denial. When you dissemble, you disguise your true intentions or feelings behind a false appearance. To dissemble is to pretend that you don’t know something, to pretend that you think one way when you act another way. “My boyfriend was dissembling the whole time. He was a married father of two.”
disseminate
cause to become widely known - [v]
Disseminate means to spread information, knowledge, opinions widely. Semin- derives from the Latin word for seed; the idea with disseminate is that information travels like seeds sown by a farmer.
Think about a teacher distributing a hand out at the beginning of a class. The dis- of disseminate and distribute come from the same Latin, which means “abroad.” But unlike papers distributed in class, information cannot be pulled back in. Think about false rumors or political smear campaigns and you’ll understand that dissemination is usually a one-way process.
dissident
a person who dissents from some established policy - [n]characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards - [adj]disagreeing, especially with a majority - [adj]
If you are a dissident, you are a person who is rebelling against a government. Dissidents can do their work peacefully or with violence.
Dissident is closely related to the word, dissent, which means objecting. People who are dissidents show their dissent. Catholic priests who advocate allowing women into the priesthood could be called dissidents, as could the Puritans who left England to live in colonial America. As an adjective, a dissident member of a group is one who disagrees with the majority of members.
dissolution
separation into component parts - [n]dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure - [n]the process of going into solution - [n]
The dissolution of a relationship means that it’s broken up or ended. The dissolution of your band means you better get started on your solo album.
Dissolution comes from the Latin word dissolutio, meaning “a dissolving of something.” Dissolution looks very similar to “dissolve,” so to help you remember the meaning, think about what happens if you put paper in water — it breaks apart. A dissolution of a marriage is the same thing as divorce. Although it sounds like disillusion, if you try to use them interchangeably, your logic will fall apart.
dissonance
disagreeable sounds - [n]the auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience - [n]a conflict of people’s opinions or actions or characters - [n]
Disagreeable sounds can be called dissonance. You know it’s dissonance if you have the strong desire to cover your ears with your hands.
Racket, noise, dissonance — all can describe sounds that are not pleasant. While some musicians purposely add a little dissonance into their melodies to create an unexpected sound, others, like someone who just started drum lessons, creates dissonance by accident. Dissonance can also be a conflict between people or opinions, like the dissonance you feel when you want to do something but your parents say “no.”
distend
cause to expand as it by internal pressure - [v]swell from or as if from internal pressure - [v]become wider - [v]
The gas distended the animal’s body
“The distended bellies of the starving cows”
A soda and pizza binge might make your stomach distend, meaning your stomach will swell as a result of pressure from the inside.
If you’ve ever eaten too much food it won’t surprise you to learn that the verb distend traces back to the Latin words dis-, meaning “apart,” and tendere, meaning “to stretch.” Your stomach will certainly feel stretched out if you do something — like overeat — that causes it to distend. The word distend often applies to stomachs — a pregnancy would also cause a stomach to distend — but it can also refer to anything that is stretched out as a result of internal pressure.
distill
undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops - [v]remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation - [v]undergo the process of distillation - [v]extract by the process of distillation - [v]give off (a liquid) - [v]
The acid distills at a specific temperature
“distill the essence of this compound”
When you distill something, you are boiling it down to its essence — its most important part. Whether it’s alcohol or ideas, the distilled part is the most powerful.
The original meaning of distill comes from the process of making alcohol, known as distilling, in which all the impurities of a substance are vaporized and its pure, high-alcohol condensation collected. Distill eventually came to mean any process in which the essence of something is revealed. If you take notes at a lecture and then turn them into an essay for your professor, you’re distilling your notes into something more pure and exact. At least, that’s what you hope you’re doing.
distrait
having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety - [adj]
Distrait means “preoccupied with worry.” If you can’t concentrate on the hot gossip your friend is sharing with you because you can’t stop thinking about what your mom is going to say about the window you accidentally broke, you’re distrait.
The adjective distrait comes from the Latin word distrahere, meaning “pull apart,” which describes what happens to your thoughts when you are distrait. It looks and sounds like distract, another word that has to do with the ability to pay attention. But while anything can make you feel distracted — a noise outside your window, a phone call that comes when you are supposed to be studying — distrait always has to do with worry and anxiety.
diverge
move or draw apart - [v]extend in a different direction - [v]be at variance with; be out of line with - [v]have no limits as a mathematical series - [v]
The two paths diverge here
“The lines start to diverge here”
“Their interests diverged”
When two roads diverge, they split and go in different directions. If your opinion diverges from mine, we do not agree. To diverge means to move apart or be separate.
The poet, Robert Frost, wrote: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -/ I took the one less traveled by / And that has made all the difference.” The word diverge in the poem carries both the meaning of separating and of being apart from the main. As a poet, it was Frost’s job to use words properly. Here he does not diverge from this role.
divest
take away possessions from someone - [v]remove (someone’s or one’s own) clothes - [v]
The company decided to divest“the board of trustees divested $20 million in real estate property”
“he was divested of his rights and his title”
It could be your wine portfolio, your stake in a mining company, or even the extra coats that are taking up space in your closet. Whatever it is, when you divest something, you get rid of it.
Divest is sort of a fancy way to say “dispose of.” It’s often used in a business context to describe companies or governments that divest some of their holdings by selling them off. It can also be used in the sense of taking something away from someone. For example if your boss becomes insane and power mad, his handlers may divest him of his title, meaning his position is taken away from him.
divulge
make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret - [v]
If you’ve been sneaking around with your best friend’s boyfriend, that’s probably one secret you don’t want to divulge, because revealing that tidbit of information will probably cut your friendship short.
Divulge often precedes the word secret, because it means to reveal something, and that something is often of a personal or private nature. A gossip columnist’s job is to divulge which celebrities are secretly dating and which ones have been caught in embarrassing situations. Although the word comes from the Latin word for making something public to the masses, it can also be used to describe information passed from one person to another. For example, a mother could divulge to her daughter that she was adopted.
doctrinaire
a stubborn person of arbitrary or arrogant opinions - [n]stubbornly insistent on theory without regard for practicality or suitability - [adj]
You’ve doubtless met someone doctrinaire at some point. You know them by their complete unwillingness to accept any belief other than their own.
If you’re familiar with the noun “doctrine” — a formal idea or system of belief — you’ll have no problem with the adjective doctrinaire. It’s a just a way of describing a person or group of people who are set in their ways. The Pope and his cardinals are unfailingly doctrinaire: they won’t allow any ideas beyond those they’ve already approved. Parents can start out doctrinaire, but children soon force them to be flexible in how they bring them up.
document
anything serving as a representation of a person’s thinking by means of symbolic marks - [n]writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature) - [n]a written account of ownership or obligation - [n](computer science) a computer file that contains text (and possibly formatting instructions) using seven-bit ASCII characters - [n]record in detail - [v]
The parents documented every step of their child’s development
“Can you document your claims?”
A document is a piece of paper that contains official information. Don’t you wish you had a document saying that the bank owed you $5 million?
Document comes from the Latin verb meaning “to teach,” so a document instructs you with the information it contains. Legal documents such as contracts contain instructions on how the people signing it will act. Passports, driver’s licenses and birth certificates are all official documents. As a verb, document means “to record in detail,” or “offer supporting evidence for.” If you call a company to complain about something, make sure to document your phone calls by noting the date you called, who you spoke to and what was said.
doggerel
a comic verse of irregular measure - [n]
he had heard some silly doggerel that kept running through his mind
We’re not sure why poor dogs always seem to get used to describe something really dreadful, but it’s the case with doggerel — meaning irregularly rhyming, really bad poetry, usually comic in tone and fit only for dogs.
Sometimes doggerel has a non-critical meaning: plenty of popular comic poets (like Lewis Carroll or any limerick inventor) had no aim to make great art, just great light verse, and they succeeded brilliantly. They were masters of doggerel. But pity the earnest highbrow poet like the immortal Scotsman William McGonagall whose doggerel was so bad his audience frequently pelted him with eggs and rotting vegetables. Now his poetry was only fit for the dogs.
dogmatic
of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative - [adj]relating to or involving dogma - [adj]characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles - [adj]
dogmatic writings
Someone who is dogmatic has arrogant attitudes based on unproved theories. If you dogmatically assert that the moon is made of green cheese, you’ll just get laughed at.
The most basic definition of the adjective dogmatic is that it is related to dogma — doctrines relating to morals and faith — but what it has come to mean is attitudes that are not only based on unproved theories but are also arrogant in nature. The root of dogmatic is the Greek word dogmatikos. A synonym of dogmatic is “dictatorial” and because there are religious associations to the root word dogma, someone who is dogmatic tends to “pontificate.”
dormant
inactive but capable of becoming active - [adj]in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation - [adj](of e.g. volcanos) not erupting and not extinct - [adj]lying with head on paws as if sleeping - [adj]
her feelings of affection are dormant but easily awakened
“dormant buds”
“a dormant volcano”
That old dog was dormant for so long he was confused for a furry doormat, but a doormat is likely to stay dormant, or inactive, because it is lifeless: that old dog has some life in him yet.
Volcanoes are described as dormant when they stay cool for a long time, without spewing hot lava and ash. They may have the ability to come to life, but they remain dormant, or inactive. Dormant comes from French dormir, “to sleep,” and it refers to living things that are on a break rather than things that have died. Being dormant is being temporarily at rest, although sometimes, as with some cancer cells, things become permanently — and thankfully — dormant.
dross
worthless or dangerous material that should be removed - [n]the scum formed by oxidation at the surface of molten metals - [n]
Things that are a total loss — really worthless or damaging — are dross. You could call that gunk between your teeth that comes out when you floss, dross. No one wants it, and it’s harmful if it stays.
While dross is a noun for stuff that’s physically left over or useless, like the nonmetallic stuff left when metal gets refined, it’s also used for people and forms of art. A really bad movie can be called dross, and a low or despicable person can be dross. Debris, or trash, is another form of dross. “Searching the backyard for unexploded fireworks — the dross of Chinese New Year celebrations — was a tradition for the kids and a safeguard for the dogs.”
dupe
fool or hoax - [v]a person who is tricked or swindled - [n]
The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone
A dupe is a furry, ceremonial hat occasionally worn during ancient pagan rituals… or not. Dupe actually means “trick or deceive.” We’re sorry we tried to dupe you into believing the wrong definition.
Dupe can also refer to the victim of a trick or hoax, and — used in this sense — it sometimes conveys the idea that the victim is easily fooled. Dupe comes from the French word for a type of bird called the hoopoe, which has an extravagant crest and a reputation for being dim-witted. (And no, that’s not another attempt to dupe you; it’s the truth!)
ebullient
joyously unrestrained - [adj]
More than chipper, more than happy, more than delighted is ebullient — meaning bubbling over with joy and delight.
There are two senses of the word of ebullient. One describes an immediate, and ultimately short-lived, reaction to a particular event — for example if you’ve just won the lottery, you are ebullient. The other describes someone who is perpetually upbeat and cheerful, for example, as in “an ebullient personality.” Watch out for ebullient personalities: they can often be “over the top” as well.
eclectic
selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas - [adj]someone who selects according to the eclectic method - [n]
She listens to hip-hop, Gregorian chant, and folk music from the ’60s. He’s been seen wearing a handmade tuxedo jacket over a thrift-store flannel shirt. They both have eclectic tastes.
The English word eclectic first appeared in the seventeenth century to describe philosophers who did not belong to a particular school of thought, but instead assembled their doctrines by picking and choosing from a variety of philosophical systems. Today, the word can refer to any assemblage of varied parts. You can have an eclectic group of friends (friends from diverse groups), eclectic taste in furniture (a mixture of 18th-century French chairs, Andy Warhol paintings, and Persian rugs), or enjoy eclectic cuisine (fusion cooking that uses ingredients from different national cuisines).
