SAT - D's Flashcards
Debilitate
V. weaken; enfeeble.
Michael’s severe bout of the flu debilitated him so much that he was too tired to go to work for a week.
Debunk
V. expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc
Pointing ou that he consistently had voted against strengthening anti-pollution legislation, reporters debunked the candidate’s claim that he was a feverent enviromentalist.
Decorum
N. propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners.
Even the best-mannered students have trouble behaving with decorum on the last day of school.
Decorous, Adj.
Deference
N. courteous regard for another’s wish.
In deference to the minister’s request, please do not take photographs during the wedding service.
Dehydrate
V. remove water from; dry out.
Running under a hot sun quickly dehydrates the body; joggers soon learn to carry water bottles and to drink from them frequently.
Deleterious
Adj. harmful.
If you believe that smoking is deleterious to your health (and the Surgeon General certainly does), then quit!
Delineate
V. portray; depict; sketch.
Using only a few descriptive phrases, Austen delineates the character of Mr. Collins so well that we can predict his every move.
Delineation, N.
Denounce
V. condemn; criticize.
The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public’s trust.
Denunciation, N.
Deplore
V. regret; disapprove of.
Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely.
Depravity
N. extreme corruption, wickedness.
The depravity of Caligula’s behavior came to sicken even those who had willingly participated in his earlier, comparatively innocent orgies.
Deprecate
V. express disapproval of; protest against; belittle.
A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Pot deprecated the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
Deprecatory, Adj.
Deride
V. ridicule; make fun of.
The critics derided his pretentious dialogue and refused to consider his play seriously.
Derision, N.
Derivative
Adj. unoriginal, derived from another source.
Although her early poetry was clearly derivative in nature, the critics thoght she had promise and eventually would find her voice.
Desiccate
V. dry up.
A tour of this smokehouse will give you an idea of how the pioneers used to desiccate food in order to preserve it.
Despondent
Adj. depressed; gloomy.
To the dismay of his parents, William becamse seriously despondent after he broke up with Jan; they despaired of finding a cure for his gloom.
Despondency, N.
Detached
Adj. emotionally removed; calm and objective; physically unconnected,
A psychoanalyst must maintain a detached point of view and stay uninvolved with his or her patient’s personal lives.
Deterrent
N. something that discourages; hindrance.
Does the threat of capital punishment serve as a deterrent to potential killers?
Deter, V.
Detrimental
Adj. harmful; damaging.
The candidate’s acceptance of major financial contributions from a well-known racist ultimately proved detrimental to his campaign, for he lost the backing of many of his early grassroots supporters.
Detriment, N.
Devious
Adj. roundabout; erratic; not straightforward.
The Joker’s plan was so devious that it was only with great difficulty we could follow its shifts and dodges.
Devise
V. to think up; invent; plan.
How clever he must be to have devised such a devious plan!
Diffidence
N. shyness.
You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to becomes a salesperson.
Diffuse
Adj. wordly; rambling; spread out (like a gas).
If you pay authors by the word, you tempt them to produce diffuse manuscripts rather than brief ones.
Diffusion, N.
Disgression
N. wandering away from the subject.
Nobody minded when Professor Renoir’s lectures wandered away from their official themes; his disgressions were always more fascinating than the topic of the day.
Disgress, V.
Dilatory
Adj. delaying.
If you are dilatory in paying bills, your credit rating may suffer.
Diligence
N. steadiness of effort; persistent hard work.
Her employers were greatly impressed by her diligence and offered her a partnership in the firm.
Diligent, Adj.
Diminution
N. lessening; reduction in size.
Old Jack was as sharp at eighty as he had been at fifty; increasing age led to no diminution of his mental acuity.
Discerning
Adj. mentally quick and observant; having insight.
Though no genius, the star was sufficiently discerning to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.
Disclose
V. reveal.
Although competitors offered him bribes, he refused to disclose any information about his company’s forthcoming product.
Disclosure, N.
Discordant
Adj. not harmonious; conflicting.
Nothing is quite so discordant as the sound of a junior high school orchestra tuning up.
Discount
V. disregard; dismiss.
Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife.
Discourse
N. formal conclusion; conversation.
The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers.
Discrepancy
N. lack of consistency; difference.
The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him.
Discriminating
Adj. able to see differences; prejudiced.
A superb interpreter of Picasso, she was sufficiently discriminating to judge the most complex works of modern art.
Discrimation, N.
Disdain
V. view with scorn of contempt.
In the film Funny Face, the bookish heroine disdained fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests.
Also N.
Disclination
N. unwillingness.
Some mornings I feel a great disclination to get out of bed.
Dismiss
V. put away from consideration; ;reject.
Believing in John’s love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful.
Disparage
V. belittle.
A doting mother, Emma was more likely to praise her son’s crude attempts at art than to disparage them.
Disparity
N. difference; condition of inequality.
Their disparity in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
Disperse
V. scatter.
The police fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse the protesters.
Dispersion, N.
Disputatious
Adj. argumentative; fond of arguing.
Convinced he knew more than the lawyers, Alan was a disputatious client, ready to argue about the best way to conduct the case.
Disputant, N.
Disseminate
V. distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds).
By their use of the Internet, propagandists have been able to disseminate their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.
Distend
V. expand; swell out.
I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead.
Divergent
Adj. differing; deviating.
Since graduating from medical school, the two doctors have taken divergent paths, one going on to becoming a nationally prominent surgeon, the other dedicating himself to a small family practice in his home town.
Diversity, N.
Doctrine
N. teachings, in general; particular principle (religious, legal, etc.)
He was so committed to the doctrine of his faith that he was unable to evaluate them impartially.
Document
V. provide written evidence.
She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm.
Also N.
Dogmatic
Adj. opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal.
We tried to discourage Doug from being so dogmatic, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong.
Dubious
Adj. questionable; filled with doubt.
Many critcs of the SAT contend test is of dubious worth; Jay claimed that he could get a perfect 2400 on the new SAT, but Ellen was dubious; she knew he hadn’t cracked a book in three years.
Dupe
N. someone easily fooled.
While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock Holmes was far more difficult to fool.
Also V.
Duplicity
N. double-healing; hypocrisy.
When Tanya learned that Mark had been two-timing her, she was furious at his duplicity.
