List Of Word D Flashcards
Dearth (durth)
Noun
Lack ; scarcity
There is not dearth of comedy at a convention of clowns.
Daunt (dawnt)
V
To make fearful ; to intimidate
The steepness of the mountain daunted the team of amateur climbers, who hadn’t realized what they were in for.
Debacle ( di BAHK Ul)
Noun
Violent breakdown; sudden overthrow; overwhelming defeat
A political debate would become a debacle of the candidates began screaming and throwing dinner rolls at each other.
Debauchery ( di BAW chuh ree)
Noun
Wild living ; excessive intemperance
Debauchery can be expensive ; fortunately for Jeff, his wallet matched his appetite for extravagant pleasures. He died a poor, albeit happy, man.
Debilitate ( di BIL uh tayt)
V
To weaken ; to cripple
The football player’s career was ended by a debilitating injury to his knee.
Decadent ( DEK uh dunt)
Adjective
Decaying or decayed, especially in terms of morals
A person who engages in decadent behavior is a person whose morals have decayed or fallen into ruin.
Decimate ( DES uh mayt)
V
To kill or destroy a large part of
To decimate an army is to come close to wiping it out.
Decorous ( DEK ur us)
Adjective
Proper ; in good taste ; orderly
Decorous behavior is good, polite, orderly behavior.
To be decorous is to be sober and tasteful.
Deduce (di DOOS)
V
To conclude from the evidence ; to infer
To deduce something is to conclude it without being told it directly!
Defame ( di FAYM)
V
To libel or slander; to ruin the good name of
The local businessman accused the newspaper of defaming him by publishing an article that said his company was poorly!
Deference ( DEF ur nus)
Noun
Submission to another’s will ; country ; respect
To show deference to someone is to place someone’s will ahead of your will.
Definitive ( di FUN uh tiv)
Adjective
Conclusive; providing the last word
Walter complied the conclusive biography of Keats; nothing could have been added by any other author.
Degenerate (di JEN uh rayt)
V
To break down; to deteriorate
The discussion quickly degenerated into an argument.
Deleterious (del uh TIR ee us)
Adjective
Harmful
Smoking cigarettes is deleterious to your health.
Delineate (di LIN ee ayt)
V
To describe accurately; to draw in outline
The portrait artist delineated Sarah’s features then filled in the shading.
Delude (dye LOOD)
V
To mislead the mind or judgement of
The deluded mental patient believed that he was a chicken sandwich.
Deluge (DEL yooj)
Noun
A flood; an inundation
A deluge is a flood, but the word is often used figuratively.
Demagogue (DEM uh gawg)
Noun
A leader of the people, but more a rabble rouser
A demagogue is a leader, but not in a good sense of the word. He manipulates the public to support his aims, but he is little different from a dictator. A demagogue is often a despot.