D Flashcards
(44 cards)
Debutante
Noun
Young woman making debut in high society:
The debutante spent hours feeding for her very first ball, hoping to catch the eye of an eligible bachelor.
Synonym: lady ; maiden
Declivity
Noun
Downward slope:
Because the village was situated on the declivity of a hill, it never flooded.
Synonym: decline; slant
Decorous
Adj
Proper, tasteful, socially correct
The countess trained her daughters in the finer points of decorous behavior, hoping they would make a good impression when she presented them at the court.
Synonym: appropriate ; courteous; polite
Decorum
Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety:
The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace.
Synonym: correctness; etiquette; manner;’propriety
Deface
Verb
To mar the appearance of, to vandalize:
After the wall was torn down, the students began to deface the statues of communists leaders of the former eastern bloc.
Synonym: disfigure
Deference
Noun
Respect, courtesy:
The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost deference.
Synonym: honor; veneration
Deleterious
Adj
Subtly or unexpectedly harmful:
If only we had known the clocks were defective before putting them on the market, it wouldn’t have been quite so deleterious to our reputation.
Synonym: Adverse; inimical; hurtful
Demagogue
Noun
A leader, rabble-rouser, usually appealing to emotion or prejudice:
He began his career as a demagogue, giving fiery speeches at political rallies.
Synonym: agitator; inciter; instigator
Demur
Verb
To express doubts or objections:
When scientific authorities claimed that all the planets revolved around the earth, Galileo, with his superior understanding of the situation, was forced to demur.
Synonym: dissent; expostulate; protest
Deride
Verb
To speak of or treat with contempt, mock:
The awkward child was often derided by his ‘cooler’ peers.
Synonym: gibe; ridicule;
Desiccate
Verb
To dry out thoroughly:
After a few weeks lying in the desert, the cows carcass became completely desiccated.
Synonym: dehydrate; parch
Desultory
Adj
Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected:
Lisa had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years.
Synonym: erratic; haphazard
Diaphanous
Adj
Allowing light to show through; delicate:
These diaphanous curtains do nothing to block out the sunlight.
Synonym: gauzy; sheer; translucent
Diatribe
Noun
An abusive; condemnatory speech:
The trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who cut him off.
Synonym: culmination: invective
Dictum
Noun
Authoritative statement:
“You have time to lean, you have time to clean,” was the dictum our boss made us live by.
Synonym: apothegm; aphorism
Diffident
Adj
Lacking self-confidence:
Steve was diffident during the job interview because of his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.
Synonym: timid; shy
Dilate
Verb
To make larger, expand:
When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes dilate so as to let in more light.
Synonym: amplify; enlarge
Dilatory
Adj
Intended to delay; procrastinating:
The congressman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill.
Synonym: putting off
Dilettante
Noun
Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic:
Jett’s friends were such dilettantes they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week.
Synonym: amateur; rookie
Dirge
Noun
A funeral hymn or mournful speech:
The poet wrote the poem “a dirge for james” for the funeral of a union general who was killed in 1864.
Synonym: elegy; lament
Disabuse
Verb
To set right , to free from error:
Scientist’s observations disabused scholars of the notion that wheat could be turned into gold.
Synonym: correct; dismiss
Discern
Verb
To perceive, to recognize:
It is easy to discern the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping.
Synonym : differentiate
Disparate
Adj
Fundamentally different; entirely unlike:
Although the twins are physically identical, their personalities are disparate.
Synonym: different; dissimilar
Dissemble
Verb
To present a false appearance, to disguise one’s real intentions or characters :
The villain could dissemble to the police no longer - he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the stash of stolen money.
Synonym: camouflage; cloak; feign
