- dais Dictionary lookup
(n.) a raised platform at one end of a room
The dais was lowered to make the speaker look taller.
- dally Dictionary lookup
(v.) to loiter; to waste time
Please do not dally or we will miss our appointment. - dank Dictionary lookup
(adj.) damp and chilly
The cellar became very dank during the winter time. - dauntless Dictionary lookup
(adj.) fearless; not discouraged
The dauntless ranger scaled the mountain to complete the rescue. - dearth Dictionary lookup
(n.) scarcity; shortage
A series of coincidental resignations left the firm with a dearth of talent.
The dearth of the coverage forced him to look for a new insurance agent. - debacle Dictionary lookup
(n.) disaster; collapse; a rout
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the stock exchanges implemented numerous safeguards to head off another debacle on Wall Street. - debase Dictionary lookup
(v.) to make lower in quality
The French are concerned that "Franglais," a blending of English and French, will debase their language. - debilitate Dictionary lookup
(v.) to enfeeble; to wear out
The phlebitis debilitated him to the point where he was unable even to walk.
The illness will debilitate the muscles in his legs. - debonair Dictionary lookup
(adj.) having an affable manner; carefree; genial
Opening the door for another is a debonair action. - deciduous Dictionary lookup
(adj.) shedding; temporary
When the leaves began to fall from the tree we learned that it was deciduous. - decisiveness Dictionary lookup
(n.) an act of being firm or determined
Decisiveness is one of the key qualities of a successful executive. - decorous Dictionary lookup
(adj.) showing decorum; propriety, good taste
This movie provides decorous refuge from the violence and mayhem that permeates the latest crop of Hollywood films.
The decorous suit was made of fine material. - decry Dictionary lookup
(v.) to denounce or condemn openly
The pastor decried all forms of discrimination against any minority group. - defamation Dictionary lookup
(n.) to harm a name or reputation; to slander
The carpenter felt that the notoriousness of his former partner brought defamation to his construction business. - defunct Dictionary lookup
(adj.) no longer living or existing
The man lost a large sum of money when the company went defunct. - deleterious Dictionary lookup
(adj.) harmful; hurtful; noxious
Deleterious fumes escaped from the overturned truck. - delineate Dictionary lookup
(v.) to outline; to describe
She delineated her plan so that everyone would have a basic understanding of it. - deliquesce Dictionary lookup
(v.) to dissolve
The snow deliquesced when the temperature rose. - delusion Dictionary lookup
(n.) a false belief or opinion
The historian suffered from the delusion that he was Napoleon. - demise Dictionary lookup
(n.) ceasing to exist as in death
The demise of Gimbels followed years of decline. - demur Dictionary lookup
(v.; n.) to object; objection; misgiving
She hated animals, so when the subject of buying a cat came up, she demurred.
She said yes, but he detected a demur in her voice.
She was nominated to sit on the committee, but she demurred.
The council president called for a vote, and hearing no demur, asked for a count by the clerk. - denounce Dictionary lookup
(v.) to speak out against; condemn
A student rally was called to denounce the use of drugs on campus. - depict Dictionary lookup
(v.) to portray; describe
The mural depicts the life of a typical urban dweller. - deposition Dictionary lookup
(n.) a removal from office or power; a testimony
Failing to act lawfully could result in his deposition.
She met with her lawyer this morning to review her deposition. - depravity Dictionary lookup
(n.) moral corruption; badness
Drugs and money caused depravity throughout the once decorous community.
The depravity of the old man was bound to land him in jail one day. - deprecate Dictionary lookup
(v.) to express disapproval of; to protest against
The environmentalists deprecated the paper companies for cutting down ancient forests.
The organization will deprecate the opening of the sewage plant. - deride Dictionary lookup
(v.) to laugh at with contempt; to mock
No matter what he said, he was derided.
It is impolite to deride someone even if you dislike him. - derision Dictionary lookup
(n.) the act of mocking; ridicule, mockery
A day of derision from the boss left the employee feeling depressed.
Constant derision from classmates made him quit school. - derogatory Dictionary lookup
(adj.) belittling; uncomplimentary
He was upset because his annual review was full of derogatory comments. - descant Dictionary lookup
(v.) lengthy talking or writing
The man will descant on the subject if you give him too much speaking time. - desist Dictionary lookup
(v.) to stop or cease
The judge ordered the man to desist from calling his ex-wife in the middle of the night. - despoil Dictionary lookup
(v.) to take everything; plunder
The Huns despoiled village after village. - desultory Dictionary lookup
(adj.) moving in a random, directionless manner
The thefts were occurring in a desultory manner making them difficult to track. - detached Dictionary lookup
(adj.) separated; not interested; standing alone
Detached from modern conveniences, the islanders live a simple, unhurried life. - deter Dictionary lookup
(v.) to prevent; to discourage; hinder
He deterred the rabbits by putting down garlic around the garden. - determinate Dictionary lookup
(adj.) distinct limits
The new laws were very determinate as far as what was allowed and what was not allowed. - devoid Dictionary lookup
(adj.) lacking; empty
The interplanetary probe indicated that the planet was devoid of any atmosphere. - dexterous Dictionary lookup
(adj.) skillful, quick mentally or physically
The dexterous gymnast was the epitome of grace on the balance beam. - diatribe Dictionary lookup
(n.) a bitter or abusive speech
During the divorce hearings she delivered a diatribe full of the emotion pushing her away from her husband.
The diatribe was directed towards a disrespectful supervisor. - dichotomy Dictionary lookup
(n.) a division into two parts or kinds
The dichotomy within the party threatens to split it.
The dichotomy between church and state renders school prayer unconstitutional. - dictum Dictionary lookup
(n.) a formal statement of either fact or opinion
Computer programmers have a dictum: garbage in, garbage out. - diffidence Dictionary lookup
(n.) a hesitation in asserting oneself
A shy person may have great diffidence when forced with a problem. - diffuse Dictionary lookup
(adj.) spread out; verbose (wordy); not focused
The toys were discovered in a diffuse manner after the birthday party.
His monologue was so diffuse that all his points were lost. - digress Dictionary lookup
(v.) stray from the subject; wander from topic
It is important to not digress from the plan of action. - dilettante Dictionary lookup
(n.) an admirer of the fine arts; a dabbler
Though she played the piano occasionally, she was more of a dilettante. - diligence Dictionary lookup
(n.) hard work
Anything can be accomplished with diligence and commitment. - diminutive Dictionary lookup
(adj.; n.) smaller than average; a small person; a word, expressing smallness, formed when a suffix is added
They lived in a diminutive house.
The diminutive woman could not see over the counter. - din Dictionary lookup
(n.) a noise which is loud and continuous
The din of the jackhammers reverberated throughout the concrete canyon. - dint Dictionary lookup
(n.) strength
The dint of the bridge could hold trucks weighing many tons. - dirge Dictionary lookup
(n.) a hymn for a funeral; a song or poem expressing lament
The mourners sang a traditional Irish dirge . - disarray Dictionary lookup
(n.) (state of) disorder
The thief left the house in disarray. - disavow Dictionary lookup
(v.) to deny; to refuse to acknowledge
The actor has disavowed the rumor. - discomfit Dictionary lookup
(v.) to frustrate the expectations of
The close game discomfited the number one player. - discord Dictionary lookup
(n.) disagreement; lack of harmony
There was discord amidst the jury, and therefore a decision could not be made. - discourse Dictionary lookup
(v.) to converse; to communicate in an orderly fashion
The scientists discoursed on a conference call for just five minutes but were able to solve three major problems.
The interviewee discoursed so fluently, she was hired on the spot. - discrete Dictionary lookup
(adj.) separate; individually distinct; composed of distinct parts
There were four discrete aspects to the architecture of the home.
The citizens committee maintained that road widening and drainage were hardly discrete issues. - disdain Dictionary lookup
(n.; v.) intense dislike; look down upon; scorn
She showed great disdain toward anyone who did not agree with her.
She disdains the very ground you walk upon. - disentangle Dictionary lookup
(v.) to free from confusion
We need to disentangle ourselves from the dizzying variety of choices. - disheartened Dictionary lookup
(adj.) discouraged; depressed
After failing the exam, the student became disheartened and wondered if he would ever graduate. - disingenuous Dictionary lookup
(adj.) not frank or candid; deceivingly simple (opposite: ingenious)
The director used a disingenuous remark to make his point to the student.
He always gives a quick, disingenuous response; you never get a straight answer. - disparage Dictionary lookup
(v.) to belittle; undervalue; to discredit
After she fired him she realized that she had disparaged the value of his assistance.
The lawyer will attempt to disparage the testimony of the witness.
- disparate Dictionary lookup
(adj.) unequal; dissimilar; different
They came from disparate backgrounds, one a real estate magnate, the other a custodian.
The disparate numbers of players made the game a sure blowout. - disparity Dictionary lookup
(n.) difference in form, character, or degree
There is a great disparity between a light snack and a great feast. - dispassionate Dictionary lookup
(adj.) lack of feeling; impartial
She was a very emotional person and could not work with such a dispassionate employer. - disperse Dictionary lookup
(v.) to scatter; separate
The pilots dispersed the food drops over a wide area of devastation.
Tear gas was used to disperse the crowd. - disputatious Dictionary lookup
(adj.) argumentative; inclined to disputes
His disputatious streak eventually wore down his fellow parliament members.
The child was so disputatious he needed to be removed from the room. - dissemble Dictionary lookup
(v.) to pretend; to feign; to conceal by pretense
The man dissembled his assets shamelessly to avoid paying alimony.
Agent 007 has a marvelous ability to dissemble his real intentions. - disseminate Dictionary lookup
(v.) to circulate; scatter
He was hired to disseminate newspapers to everyone in the town.
The preacher traveled across the country to disseminate his message. - dissent Dictionary lookup
(v.) to disagree; differ in opinion
They agreed that something had to be done, but dissented on how to do it. - dissonance Dictionary lookup
(n.) musical discord; a mingling of inharmonious sounds; nonmusical; disagreement; lack of harmony
Much twentieth-century music is not liked by classical music lovers because of the dissonance it holds and the harmonies it lacks.
The dissonance of his composition makes for some rough listening. - distention Dictionary lookup
(n.) inflation or extension
The bulge in the carpet was caused by the distention of the wood underneath. - dither Dictionary lookup
(v.; n.) to act indecisively; a confused condition
She dithered every time she had to make a decision.
Having to take two tests in one day left the student in a dither. - diverge Dictionary lookup
(v.) separate, split
The path diverges at the old barn, one fork leading to the house, and the other leading to the pond.
The wide, long river diverged into two distinct separate rivers, never again to join. - diverse Dictionary lookup
(adj.) different; varied
The course offerings were so diverse I had a tough time choosing. - divestiture Dictionary lookup
(n.) being stripped
When it was found the team cheated, there was a divestiture of their crown. - document Dictionary lookup
(n.; v.) official paper containing information; to support; substantiate; verify
They needed a written document to prove that the transaction occurred.
Facing an audit, she had to document all her client contacts. - doggerel Dictionary lookup
(n.) verse characterized by forced rhyme and meter
Contrary to its appearance, doggerel can contain some weighty messages. - dogma Dictionary lookup
(n.) a collection of beliefs
The dogma of the village was based on superstition. - dormant Dictionary lookup
(adj.) as if asleep
The animals lay dormant until the spring thaw. - doting Dictionary lookup
(adj.) excessively fond of
With great joy, the doting father held the toddler. - dowdy Dictionary lookup
(adj.) shabby in appearance
The dowdy girl had no buttons on her coat and the threads were falling apart. - dubious Dictionary lookup
(adj.) doubtful; uncertain; skeptical; suspicious
Many people are dubious about the possibility of intelligent life on other planets.
The new information was dubious enough to re-open the case. - duplicity Dictionary lookup
(n.) deception
She forgave his duplicity but divorced him anyway. - duress Dictionary lookup
(n.) imprisonment; the use of threats
His duress was supposed to last 10-15 years.
The policewoman put the man under duress in order to get a confession.
The Labor Department inspector needed to establish whether the plant workers had been held under duress.