Essential Vocabulary: Definitions for D-Words

Essential Vocabulary List: D-Words

• Derelict: Neglectful; delinquent.
• Desist: To stop doing something.
• Devout: Deeply religious.
• Diatribe: A bitter, abusive denunciation.
• Dichotomy: Division into two parts, especially contradictory ones.
• Diffuse: To cause to spread out.
• Dilapidated: Broken-down.
• Dilate: To make larger.
• Dilemma: A situation in which one must choose between two equally unattractive choices.
• Diminution: The act or process of diminishing.
• Dire: Disastrous.
• Dirge: A funeral song.
• Disaffect: To cause to lose affection.
• Disarray: Disorder.
• Disclaim: To deny any claim to.
• Discomfit: To frustrate.
• Disconcert: To upset.
• Discourse: Spoken or written expression in words.
• Discrepancy: Difference.
• Discursive: Rambling from one topic to another, usually aimlessly.
• Disgruntle: To make sulky and dissatisfied.
• Disinformation: False information purposely disseminated, usually by a government, for the purpose of creating a false impression.
• Dismal: Dreary; causing gloom.
• Dismay: To fill with dread.
• Dispassionate: Unaffected by passion.
• Disperse: To scatter.
• Dispirit: To discourage.
• Disposition: Characteristic attitude.
• Disproportionate: Out of proportion.
• Disquiet: To make uneasy.
• Dissemble: To conceal the real nature of.
• Dissent: To disagree.
• Disservice: A harmful action.
• Dissident: A person who disagrees or dissents.
• Dissuade: To persuade not to.
• Distinct: Separate.
• Diurnal: Occurring every day.
• Divine: To intuit.
• Divulge: To reveal, especially to reveal something that has been a secret.
• Document: To support with evidence, especially written evidence.
• Doldrums: Low spirits.
• Doleful: Sorrowful.
• Dolt: A stupid person.
• Dotage: Senility.
• Double Entendre: A word or phrase having a double meaning, especially when the second meaning is risqué.
• Dour: Forbidding.
• Downcast: Directed downward.
• Downplay: To minimize.
• Draconian: Harsh.
• Droll: Humorous.
• Dross: Worthless stuff, especially worthless stuff arising from the production of valuable stuff.
• Duress: Coercion.
• Diminish: To reduce.
• Sullen: Sulky; in a bad mood.
• Tirade: A long, angry speech.
• Wooden: Stiff.
• Rebuff: To reject.