Verb Section 2 Flashcards

1
Q

dabble

A

to play and splash in or as if in water, especially with the hands
to work at anything in an irregular or superficial manner: to dabble in literature
Many others don’t want to ditch their day jobs but want to dabble in side projects to earn extra dough.

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2
Q

dampen

A

to make damp; moisten: to dampen a sponge
to dull or deaden; depress: to dampen one’s spirits
She wears earplugs and rests her head on foam cushions to dampen the device’s roar, as loud as a jet engine.

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3
Q

debase

A

to reduce in quality or value; adulterate: They debased the value of the dollar.
to lower in rank, dignity, or significance: He wouldn’t debase himself by doing manual labor.
Sport is being debased by commercial sponsorship.
a style debased by many imitators.

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4
Q

debilitate

A

to make weak or feeble; enfeeble
The siege of pneumonia debilitated her completely.
The troops were severely debilitated by hunger and disease.
The police sought to completely debilitate the celebration.

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5
Q

debunk

A

to expose or excoriate (a claim, assertion, sentiment) as being pretentious, false, or exaggerated: to debunk advertising slogans
His theories have been debunked by recent research.
They also debunk six myths about how to boost intelligence.

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6
Q

deceive

A

to mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude
They deceived the enemy by disguising the destroyer as a freighter.
to mislead or falsely persuade others; practice deceit: an engaging manner that easily deceives.
There is no intention to deceive.
Sonar images can deceive even those who interpret them for a living.

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7
Q

decipher

A

to make out the meaning of (poor or partially obliterated writing): to decipher a hastily scribbled note
to interpret by the use of a key, as something written in cipher: to decipher a secret message
I always wonder how people manage to decipher my doctor’s handwriting.
The look he gave her was hard to decipher.

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8
Q

decry

A

to speak disparagingly of; denounce as faulty or worthless; express censure of
She decried the lack of support for the arts in this country.
Violence on television is generally decried as harmful to children.
In her article, she decries the pollution of the environment by manufacturers.

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9
Q

defer

A

to put off (action, consideration) to a future time; delay; postpone
The decision has been deferred by the board until next week.
Buyers know most things will only get cheaper, so they defer purchases.
to yield respectfully in judgment or opinion (usually followed by to): We all defer to him in these matters; deferred to her father’s wishes
to submit for decision; refer: We defer questions of this kind to the president.

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10
Q

defuse

A

to remove the fuze from (a bomb, mine)
to make less dangerous, tense, or embarrassing: to defuse a potentially ugly situation
Police closed the road while they defused the bomb.
In theory, winemakers can defuse the threat by simply shifting production to more congenial locations.

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11
Q

defy

A
to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly: to defy parental authority
The door defies all attempts to open it.
to offer effective resistance to: a fort that defies attack.
to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible: They defied him to dive off the bridge.
I defy you to do that.
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12
Q

degenerate

A

to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate: The morale of the soldiers degenerated, and they were unable to fight.
to diminish in quality, especially from a former state of coherence, balance, integrity: The debate degenerated into an exchange of insults.
He health degenerated quickly.
Liberty often degenerates into lawlessness.

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13
Q

delude

A

to mislead the mind or judgment of; deceive
His conceit deluded him into believing he was important.
They deluded themselves with belief in their own superiority.
He is deluding himself if he thinks it’s going to be easy.

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14
Q

demean

A

to lower in dignity, honor, or standing; debase
He demeaned himself by accepting the bribe.
Such images demean women.
Behavior like this demeans politics.

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15
Q

demolish

A

to destroy or ruin (a building or other structure), especially on purpose; tear down; raze; to put an end to; explode
The results of his research demolished many theories.
The fire demolished the area.
Informal. to devour completely: We simply demolished that turkey.

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16
Q

demur

A

to make objection, especially on the grounds of scruples; take exception; object
They wanted to make him the treasurer, but he demurred.
It would seem hazardous to demur to a proposition which is so widely accepted.

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17
Q

denigrate

A

to speak damagingly of; criticize in a derogatory manner; sully; defame: to denigrate someone’s character
to treat or represent as lacking in value or importance; belittle; disparage: to denigrate someone’s contributions to a project
We’ve all heard people denigrate women’s basketball because it’s slower and different from the men’s game.
We are not going to let them denigrate our historic district.

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18
Q

denounce

A

to condemn or censure openly or publicly: to denounce a politician as morally corrupt
to make a formal accusation against, as to the police or in a court
denounce a man as a traitor
denounce a person to the police

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19
Q

deplete

A

to decrease seriously or exhaust the abundance or supply of
The fire had depleted the game in the forest.
Extravagant spending soon depleted his funds.
a body depleted by excessive blood loss

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20
Q

deplore

A

to regret deeply or strongly; lament: to deplore the present state of morality
to disapprove of; censure
Like everyone else, I deplore and condemn this killing.
to feel or express deep grief for or in regard to: The class deplored the death of their teacher.

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21
Q

deprave

A

to make morally bad or evil; vitiate; corrupt
Better take them away from those who might deprave them.
He believes that pornography depraves society as a whole.

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22
Q

deprive

A

to deprive a man of life; to deprive a baby of candy
An accident deprived him of his sight.
You can’t function properly when you’re deprived of sleep.
I was deprived of education at ten.

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23
Q

derive

A

to receive or obtain from a source or origin
If we’re lucky, we may derive one great benefit from this horrible experience.
You seem to derive great pleasure in overturning our basic assumptions.

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24
Q

desert

A

to leave (a person, place) without intending to return, especially in violation of a duty, promise, or the like; abandon, leave, quit; forsake: He deserted his wife.
to fail (someone) at a time of need: None of his friends had deserted him.
Troops deserted to the enemy.
His presence of mind deserted him.

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25
detain
to keep from proceeding; keep waiting; delay; to keep under restraint or in custody He was detained by business. Detain someone as a suspect. Detained by the police for questioning.
26
deter
to discourage or restrain from acting or proceeding: The large dog deterred trespassers. to prevent; check; arrest: paint something to deter rust The high price of the service could deter people from seeking advice.
27
detract
to take away a part, as from quality, value, or reputation (usually followed by from) divert; distract: to detract another's attention from more important issues. These exaggerated reports tend to detract attention from the real issue.
28
devastate
to lay waste; render desolate; destroy, sack, despoil, raze, ruin, level The invaders devastated the city. He was devastated by grief. Man has stripped the hills, devastated the valleys.
29
deviate
to turn aside, as from a route, way, course; to depart or swerve, as from a procedure, course of action, or acceptable norm The bus had to deviate from its usual route because of a road closure. He never deviated from his original plan.
30
dignose
to determine the identity of (a disease, illness) by a medical examination: The doctor diagnosed her illness as diabetes mellitus. to ascertain the cause or nature of (a disorder, malfunction, problem) from the symptoms: The mechanic diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine knock. The teacher diagnosed the boy's reading difficulties.
31
dictate
to say or read (something) aloud for another person to transcribe or for a machine to record: to dictate some letters to a secretary Hold down a button and dictate the command.
32
differentiate
to form or mark differently from other such things; distinguish: differentiate one thing from another We see how people compartmentalize themselves and differentiate themselves from animals to express power, control and superiority. to perceive the difference in or between: He could differentiate colors and shapes and knew more than 100 words.
33
dilute
to make (a liquid) thinner or weaker by the addition of water or the like; to make fainter, as a color dilute wine with water The quality of the novel is diluted by the bad writing.
34
deminish
to make or cause to seem smaller, less, less important; lessen; reduce The passing year did not diminish their friendship. His interest in the subject had steadily diminished.
35
disable
to make unable or unfit; weaken or destroy the capability of; incapacitate The detective successfully disabled the bomb. He was disabled by the accident. Old age disabled him for hard labor.
36
disabuse
to free (a person) from deception or error disabuse somebody of superstition No one in my family could disabuse me of that belief. Let me disabuse you of your foolish notions about married life.
37
disavow
to disclaim knowledge of, connection with, or responsibility for; disown; repudiate He disavowed the remark that had been attributed to him. He disavowed the actions of his subordinates. She now seems to be trying to disavow her earlier statements.
38
discern
to perceive by the sight or some other sense or by the intellect; see, recognize, or apprehend: discern a distant object They discerned a sail on the horizon. to distinguish mentally; recognize as distinct or different; discriminate: discern between good and evil He is incapable of discerning right from wrong.
39
discomfit
to confuse and deject; disconcert; to frustrate the plans of; thwart; foil to be discomfited by a question; completely discomfited by the unexpected question
40
disconcert
to disturb the self-possession of; perturb; ruffle: Her angry reply disconcerted me completely. to throw into disorder or confusion; disarrange: He changed his mind and disconcerted everybody's plans. News of his criminal past has disconcerted even his admirers.
41
discontent
to make discontented; dissatisfy; displease | The ongoing lack of decent food discontented and demoralized the soldiers in the rebel army.
42
discredit
to injure the credit or reputation of; defame: an effort to discredit honest politicians to show to be undeserving of trust or belief; destroy confidence in: Later research discredited earlier theories. to give no credence to; disbelieve: There was good reason to discredit the witness.
43
discriminate
to make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit; show partiality: The new law discriminates against foreigners. He discriminates in favor of his relatives. recognize a distinction; differentiate: a mark that discriminates the original from the copy He can discriminate minute variations in tone. discriminate between right and wrong
44
disdain
to look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn disdain a man for his snobbishness to think unworthy of notice, response; consider beneath oneself: disdain to reply to an insult She disdained his offer for help. Immigrants accept the jobs disdained by the local workforce.
45
disengage
``` to release from attachment or connection; loosen; unfasten: to disengage a clutch; She disengaged quickly from his hold. to free (oneself) from an engagement, pledge, obligation: He accepted the invitation, but was later forced to disengage himself. ```
46
disgrace
to bring or reflect shame or reproach upon; to dismiss with discredit; put out of grace or favor; rebuke or humiliate to be disgraced at court to be disgraced by cowardice disgrace oneself; disgrace one's name You have disgraced us all with your behavior.
47
disguise
The king was disguised as a peasant. disguise oneself with a false mustache disguise one's age/voice a door disguised as a book-case
48
disillusion
to free from or deprive of illusion, belief, idealism; disenchant Hamlet was disillusioned in his mother.
49
disincline
to make or be averse or unwilling Your rudeness disinclines me to grant your request. I feel disinclined for any more sleep.
50
dismay
to break down the courage of completely, as by sudden danger or trouble; dishearten thoroughly; daunt: The surprise attack dismayed the enemy. He was dismayed at the size of his adversary. to surprise in such a manner as to disillusion: She was dismayed to learn of their disloyalty. to alarm; perturb: The new law dismayed some of the more conservative politicians.
51
dismiss
to direct (an assembly of persons) to disperse or go: I dismissed the class early. to discharge or remove, as from office or service: to dismiss an employee He was dismissed from the service for his careless behaviors. to discard or reject: to dismiss a suitor
52
disparage
to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle: Do not disparage good manners. to bring reproach or discredit upon; lower the estimation of: Your behavior will disparage the whole family. The country's elite disparage it as the domain of the uncultured and the criminal.
53
dispel
to drive off in various directions; disperse; dissipate: to dispel the dense fog to cause to vanish; alleviate: to dispel her fears All doubts are now dispelled. I'd like to start the speech by dispelling a few rumors that have been spreading recently.
54
disperse
to drive or send off in various directions; scatter: to disperse a crowd to spread widely; disseminate: to disperse knowledge to dispel; cause to vanish: The wind dispersed the fog. A book dispersed throughout the world. Her sweet words dispersed his melancholy.
55
disquiet
to deprive of calmness, equanimity, or peace; disturb; make uneasy The news disquieted him. My heart is disquieted. We were disquieted by the strange noises we heard outside our tent at night.
56
disregard
to pay no attention to; leave out of consideration; ignore: Disregard the footnotes. to treat without due regard, respect, or attentiveness; slight: to disregard an invitation Disregarding both hunger and fatigue, I traveled forward.
57
disrupt
to cause disorder or turmoil in: The news disrupted their conference. to destroy, usually temporarily, the normal continuance or unity of; interrupt: Telephone service was disrupted for hours.
58
disseminate
to scatter or spread widely, as though sowing seed; promulgate extensively; broadcast; disperse to disseminate information about preventive medicine the idea disseminated by the newsletter Both campaigns have raised about $1 million to disseminate their messages.
59
dissipate
to scatter in various directions; disperse; dispel to spend or use wastefully or extravagantly; squander; deplete: to dissipate one's talents; to dissipate a fortune on high living The sun shone and the mist dissipated. They dissipate all night and sleep all day. Her anger was dissipating.
60
distract
Reading distracts the mind from grief. The music distracts him from his work. I am distracted with/by anxiety.
61
distress
to subject to pressure, stress, or strain; embarrass or exhaust by strain: to be distressed by excessive work to compel by pain or force of circumstances: His suffering distressed him into committing suicide.
62
divert
to turn aside or from a path or course; deflect to draw off to a different course, purpose divert a course of a stream; divert a stream from its course divert one's attention It is sad to see so much talent divert to trivial occupations. She was trained as a doctor but diverted to diplomacy. to distract from serious occupation; entertain or amuse divert children by telling stories They were greatly diverted by the play.
63
divulge
to disclose or reveal (something private, secret, or previously unknown) divulge the source of one's information He divulged to me his dearest hopes. She refused to divulge any plans.
64
dominate
to rule over; govern; control dominate a country commercially; dominate one's passions; dominate the conversation to tower above; overlook; overshadow: A tall pine dominated the landscape. The city is dominated by the castle. to predominate, permeate, or characterize dominated by greedy egoism; dahlias dominate the garden
65
downplay
to treat or speak of (something) so as to reduce emphasis on its importance, value, strength The press has downplayed the president's role in the negotiations. The senator is downplaying the significance of the issue.
66
drain
to withdraw or draw off (a liquid) gradually; remove slowly or by degrees, as by filtration to drain oil from a crankcase; to drain a crankcase drain off the rain; drain the flooded mine to exhaust the resources of: to drain the treasury Be drained of all strength. Drain a country of its resources.
67
dread
to fear greatly; be in extreme apprehension of: to dread death to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience: I dread going to big parties. a burned child dreads the fire She started to dread seeing him.
68
dupe
to make a dupe of; deceive; delude; trick dupe somebody into doing something They soon realized they had been duped. He was duped into giving them his credit card.
69
duplicate
duplicate the document | He duplicated his father's failure.
70
dwindle
``` dwindle in size, numbers dwindle away into nothing His fame dwindled. His vast fortune has dwindled away. Failing health dwindles ambition. ```