Verb Section 2 Flashcards
dabble
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.
dampen
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.
debase
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.
debilitate
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.
debunk
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.
deceive
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.
decipher
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.
decry
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.
defer
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.
defuse
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.
defy
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.
degenerate
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.
delude
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.
demean
to lower in dignity, honor, or standing; debase
He demeaned himself by accepting the bribe.
Such images demean women.
Behavior like this demeans politics.
demolish
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.
demur
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.
denigrate
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.
denounce
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
deplete
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
deplore
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.
deprave
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.
deprive
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.
derive
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.
desert
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
