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81 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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dainty
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pretty, delicate, difficult to please
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The dainty young girl won numerous beauty pageants.
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daunt
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intimidate, make fearful
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He gave him a grim stare to try to daunt him.
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dawdler
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someone who wastes time
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Having a dawdler for a roomate doesn't inspire me to do work.
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dearth
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shortage
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The dearth of corn has made prices spike in the past year.
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debacle
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a breakup, overthrow, sudden disaster
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The revolution ended in a debacle.
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decorum
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properness
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The most important principles in the 18th century were of decorum and profundity.
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decree
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order given by authority
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The general's final decree was to surrender.
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decry
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disapprove of, denounce
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She decried the lack of support for the arts in this country.
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defer
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postpone, to show respect
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He deferred is mortage payments to the next pay period.
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deferential
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respectful
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He was taught to always be deferential when attending an event.
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defiance
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open disobedience or resistance
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Her defiance of her mother's wisheds eventually led to her grounding.
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delineate
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to portray, display, sketch out
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He delineated the path to the store.
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deluge
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great flood, rush of water
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The excessive rains led to a deluge of the city.
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demagogue
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a leader of people
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His ability to speak drove him to being a demagogue.
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demur
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to make objection
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They wanted to make him the treasurer, but he demurred.
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denigrate
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belittle, defame
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He used cruel rumors to denigrate his opponent.
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denouement
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the final resolution of a plot, outcome
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The denoument of the story left the reader feeling content.
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deplete
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use until none remains
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They depleted their air supply until they could breathe no more.
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deposition
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removal from an office or position, act of depositing
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The emporer's depostition from the throne lead to celebration in the streets.
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deprave
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make morally bad, corrupt
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The drug dealer depraved the young children into addicts.
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deprecate
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protest against, express disapproval
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They deprecated in the streets against the raising of taxes.
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dereliction
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deserting, leaving to fall into ruins
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After the dereliction of the mayans, the tribe died off.
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derision
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ridicule, mockery
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THe inept performace elicited derision from the audience.
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derivative
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obtained from another source
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The new theory was a derivative of past research.
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derogatory
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insulting, meant to damage
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The derogatory remarks to his sister made her cry.
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descry
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catch sight of, see in the distance
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The man at the front of the ship descried an island in the distance.
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desiccant
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substance used to absorb moisture
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The mechanice used a desiccant to soak up the oil spill.
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desuetude
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the state of being no longer used or practiced
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Most old medical procedures are in a state of desuetude.
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desultory
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lacking in consistency, digressing from the main subject, random
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She made a desultory remark in the middle of the conversation.
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deter
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discourage, hinder
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You could not deter him from following his dream of playing soccer.
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detraction
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slandering, verbal attack
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Let it be no detraction from his merits to say he is plainspoken.
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detumescence
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diminshing or lessening of swelling
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He rested for days, which accelerated the detumescence of his hurt ankle.
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deviance
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being different from normal standards
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His line of work was a deviance from the traditional careers of his friends.
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dexterity
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skill (especially with hands)
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The welder was known for his dexterity in the field.
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diaphanous
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transparent
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The glass was so diaphanous that i nearly ran into it.
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diatribe
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bitter and violent attack in words
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The enfuriated president repeated diatribes against the senator.
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diffidence
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shyness
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The diffidence of the black squirrel makes it nearly impossible to see.
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dilate
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speak comprehensively, become wider, larger
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Her pupils dilated when the lights turned off.
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disallow
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to reject, veto
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The judge disallowed a claim for compensation.
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discern
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to see, recognize or apprehend
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He is incapable of discerning right from wrong.
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discomfit
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confuse, embarrass
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I was discomfited by the teacher's question.
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disconcert
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to throw into disorder or confusion, disarrange
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He changed his mind and disconcerted everybody's plans.
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discountenance
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to show disapproval of
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The teacher discountenanced smoking by the students.
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discourse
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speech, lecture
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He offered a brief discourse about the subject of global warming.
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discredit
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refuse to believe
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There was no good reason to discredit the witness.
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discreet
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careful, prudent
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They obliged for a discreet silence at the baseball game in memory of the late player.
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discrete
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individually distinct
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A discrete variable has only one value for every input.
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disdain
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look on with contempt
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As Julia walked into the room, she was greeted with looks of disdain.
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disencumber
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to free from burden
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The new intern will disencumber many duties from the project engineer.
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disheveled
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untidy
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My apartment is disheveled because of my messy roomates.
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disingenuous
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trying to deceive, cunning, sophisticated
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The disingenous plan was sure to take advantage of easily tricked persons.
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disinter
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dig up from earth
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They had to disinter the fossils from a layer of sandstone.
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dislodge
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move, force from the place occupied
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He dislodged the rocks from the side of the mountain.
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dismal
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sad, gloomy, miseralbe
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It was a dismal day outsdie and rain was expected.
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disparate
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essentially different
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Steel is a mixture of two very disparate materials in iron and carbon.
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disproof
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proof to the contrary
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The discovery of planet rotations disproofed Galileo's theory.
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dissemble
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speak or behave so as to hide something
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He tried to dissemble his guilt behind a smile.
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disseminate
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to scatter or spread widely
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The doctor's goal was to disseminate informatin about preventive medicine.
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dissent
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to differ in opinion from the majority
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Two of the jurors dissented from the majority decision.
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dissolution
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the undoing or breaking of a bond, tie, or union
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The shareholders voted for the dissolution of the company.
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distraught
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distracted, violently upset in mind
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She was distraught after the car accident.
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divergence
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getting farther apart from a point
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She drew a graph to demonstrate the divergence of the two curves.
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divestiture
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something thats been rid of or sold off
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At year end the company examined its aquisitions and divestitures.
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divulge
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make known something secret
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The woman won't divulge her current weight.
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doggerel
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trivial, poorly constructed verse
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He had heard some silly doggerel that kept running through his mind.
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dogmatic
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positive, certain, without room for discussion
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The inductance of mickey mantle to the hall of fame is dogmatic.
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dolt
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stupid fellow
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There is always at least one dolt in every class.
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dormant
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in a state of inactivity
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The volcano has been dormant for years.
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dote
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show fondness, center one's attention
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The parents dote on their youngest daughter.
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drawl
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slow way of speaking
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I wish Lindsay spoke with a southern drawl.
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droll
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amusing in an odd way, humorous
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The comedian is a very droll person.
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drone
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person who lives on the labor of others
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Many kids prefer to be drones and live off their parents for years.
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drowsiness
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sleepiness
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Many night time medications cause drowsiness.
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dubious
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feeling doubt
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He made a dubious reply to the RFI.
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dud
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something that fails
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The rocket engine was a dud.
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dulcet
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melodious, harmonous
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I love the dulcet tones of the guitar.
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dupe
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cheat, make a fool of
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He tried to dupe me out of my money.
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duplicity
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speaking or acting in two different ways
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The duplicity of the politician made his stance on issues very vague.
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duress
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compulstion by threat or force
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He attempted to duress the people to join the cult.
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dwarf
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person or someone below usual size
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The guy from austin powers is a dwarf.
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dynamo
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energetic, hardworking, forceful person
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It takes a dynamo to run a company.
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