Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

TACHS Vocabulary List > D > Flashcards

D Flashcards

1
Q

debased

A

(adjective) lowered in quality, character, or esteem.

The quality of TV journalism has been debased by the many new tabloid-style talk shows.

debase (verb)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

debunk

A

(verb) to expose as false or worthless.

Magician James Randi loves to debunk psychics, mediums, clairvoyants, and others who claim supernatural powers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

decorous

A

(adjective) having good taste; proper, appropriate.

Prior to her visit to Buckingham Palace, the young woman was instructed to demonstrate the most decorous behavior.

decorum (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

decry

A

(verb) to criticize or condemn.

The workers continued to decry the lack of safety in their factory.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

deduction

A

(noun) a logical conclusion, especially a specific conclusion based on general principles.

Based on what is known about the effects of greenhouse gases on atmospheric temperature, scientists have made several deductions about the likelihood of global warming.

deduce (verb)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

delegate

A

(verb) to give authority or responsibility.

The president delegated the vice president to represent the administration at the peace talks.

delegate (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

deleterious

A

(adjective) harmful.

About thirty years ago, scientists proved that working with asbestos could be deleterious to one’s health, producing cancer and other diseases.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

delineate

A

(verb) to outline or describe.

Naturalists had long suspected the fact of evolution, but Darwin was the first to delineate a process-natural selection-through which evolution could occur.

delineation (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

demagogue

A

(noun) a leader who plays dishonestly on the prejudices and emotions of his followers.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was a demagogue who used the paranoia of the anti- Communist 1950s as a way of seizing fame and power in Washington.

demagoguery (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

demure

A

(adjective) modest or shy.

The demure heroines of Victorian fiction have given way to today’s stronger, more opinionated, and more independent female characters.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

denigrate

A

(verb) to criticize or belittle.

The firm’s new president tried to explain his plans for improving the company without appearing to denigrate the work of his predecessor.

denigration (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

depose

A

(verb) to remove from office, especially from a throne.

Iran was once ruled by a monarch called the Shah, who was deposed in 1979.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

derelict

A

(adjective) neglecting one’s duty.

The train crash was blamed on a switchman who was derelict, having fallen asleep while on duty.

dereliction (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

derivative

A

(adjective) taken from a particular source.

When a person first writes poetry, her poems are apt to be derivative of whatever poetry she most enjoys reading.

derivation (noun)
derive (verb)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

desolate

A

(adjective) empty, lifeless, and deserted; hopeless, gloomy.

Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked and had to learn to survive alone on a desolate island. The murder of her husband left Mary Lincoln desolate.

desolation (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

destitute

A

(adjective) very poor.

Years of rule by a dictator who stole the wealth of the country had left the people of the Philippines destitute.

destitution (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

deter

A

(verb) to discourage from acting.

The best way to deter crime is to ensure that criminals will receive swift and certain punishment.

deterrence (noun)
deterrent (adjective)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

detractor

A

(noun) someone who belittles or disparages.

Neil Diamond has many detractors who consider his music boring, inane, and sentimental.

detract (verb)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

deviate

A

(verb) to depart from a standard or norm.

Having agreed upon a spending budget for the company, we mustn’t deviate from it; if we do, we may run out of money soon.

deviation (noun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

devious

A

(adjective) tricky, deceptive.

The CEO’s devious financial tactics were designed to enrich his firm while confusing or misleading government regulators.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

didactic

A

(adjective) intended to teach, instructive.

The children’s TV show Sesame Street is designed to be both entertaining and didactic.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

diffident

A

(adjective) hesitant, reserved, shy.

Someone with a diffident personality should pursue a career that involves little public contact.

diffidence (noun)

23
Q

diffuse

A

(verb) to spread out, to scatter.

The red dye quickly became diffused through the water, turning it a very pale pink.

diffusion (noun)

24
Q

digress

A

(verb) to wander from the main path or the main topic.

My high school biology teacher loved to digress from science into personal anecdotes about his college adventures.

digression (noun)
digressive (adjective)

25
Q

dilatory

A

(adjective) delaying, procrastinating.

The lawyer used various dilatory tactics, hoping that his opponent would get tired of waiting for a trial and drop the case.

26
Q

diligent

A

(adjective) working hard and steadily.

Through diligent efforts, the townspeople were able to clear away the debris from the flood in a matter of days.

diligence (noun)

27
Q

diminutive

A

(adjective) unusually small, tiny.

Children are fond of Shetland ponies because their diminutive size makes them easy to ride.

diminution (noun)

28
Q

discern

A

(verb) to detect, notice, or observe.

I could discern the shape of a whale off the starboard bow, but it was too far away to determine its size or species.

discernment (noun)

29
Q

disclose

A

(verb) to make known; to reveal.

Election laws require candidates to disclose the names of those who contribute large sums of money to their campaigns.

disclosure (noun)

30
Q

discomfit

A

(verb) to frustrate, thwart, or embarrass.

Discomfited by the interviewer’s unexpected question,
Peter could only stammer in reply.

discomfiture (noun)

31
Q

disconcert

A

(verb) to confuse or embarrass.

When the hallway bells began to ring halfway through her lecture, the speaker was disconcerted and didn’t know what to do.

32
Q

discredit

A

(verb) to cause disbelief in the accuracy of some statement or the reliability of a person.

Although many people still believe in UFOs, among scientists the reports of “alien encounters” have been thoroughly discredited

33
Q

discreet

A

(adjective) showing good judgment in speech and behavior.

Be discreet when discussing confidential business matters - don’t talk among strangers on the elevator, for example.

discretion (noun)

34
Q

discrepancy

A

(noun) a difference or variance between two or more things.

The discrepancies between the two witnesses’ stories show that one of them must be lying.

discrepant (adjective)

35
Q

disdain

A

(noun) contempt, scorn.

The professor could not hide his disdain for those students who were perpetually late to his class.

disdain (verb)
disdainful (adjective)

36
Q

disingenuous

A

(adjective) pretending to be candid, simple, and frank.

When Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot ran for president, many considered his “just plain folks” style disingenuous.

37
Q

disparage

A

(verb) to speak disrespectfully about, to belittle.

Many political ads today both praise their own candidate and disparage his or her opponent.

disparagement (noun)
disparaging (adjective)

38
Q

disparity

A

(noun) difference in quality or kind.

There is often a disparity between the kind of high-quality television people say they want and the low-brow programs they actually watch.

disparate (adjective)

39
Q

disregard

A

(verb) to ignore, to neglect.

If you don’t write a will, when you die, your survivors may disregard your wishes about how your property should be handled.

disregard (noun)

40
Q

disruptive

A

(adjective) causing disorder, interrupting.

When the senator spoke at our college, angry demonstrators picketed, heckled, and engaged in other disruptive activities.

disrupt (verb)
disruption (noun)

41
Q

dissemble

A

(verb) to pretend, to simulate.

When the police questioned her about the crime, she dissembled innocence.

42
Q

dissipate

A

(verb) to spread out or scatter.

The windows and doors were opened, allowing the smoke that had filled the room to dissipate.

dissipation (noun)

43
Q

dissonance

A

(noun) lack of music harmony; lack of agreement between ideas.

Most modern music is characterized by dissonance, which many listeners find hard to enjoy. There is a noticeable dissonance between two common beliefs of most conservatives: their faith in unfettered free markets and their preference for traditional social values.

dissonant (adjective)

44
Q

diverge

A

(verb) to move in different directions.

Frost’s poem The Road Less Traveled tells of the choice he made when “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.”

divergence (noun)
divergent (adjective)

45
Q

diversion

A

(noun) a distraction or pastime.

During the two hours he spent in the doctor’s waiting room, the game on his cell phone was a welcome diversion.

divert (verb)

46
Q

divination

A

(noun) the art of predicting the future.

In ancient Greece, people wanting to know their fate would visit the priests at Delphi, supposedly skilled at divination.

divine (verb)

47
Q

divisive

A

(adjective) causing disagreement or disunity.

Throughout history, race has been the most divisive issue in American society.

48
Q

divulge

A

(verb) to reveal.

The people who count the votes for the Oscar awards are under strict orders not to divulge the names of the winners.

49
Q

dogmatic

A

(adjective) holding firmly to a particular set of beliefs with little or no basis.

Believers in Marxist doctrine tend to be dogmatic, ignoring evidence that contradicts their beliefs.

dogmatism (noun)

50
Q

dominant

A

(adjective) greatest in importance or power.

Turner’s Frontier Thesis suggests that the existence of the frontier had a dominant influence on American culture.

dominate (verb)
domination (noun)

51
Q

dubious

A

(adjective) doubtful, uncertain.

Despite the chairman’s attempts to convince the committee members that his plan would succeed, most of them remained dubious.

dubiety (noun)

52
Q

durable

A

(adjective) long lasting.

Denim is a popular material for work clothes because it is strong and durable.

53
Q

duress

A

(noun) compulsion or restraint.

Fearing that the police might beat him, he confessed to the crime, not willingly but under duress.

TACHS Vocabulary List (23 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions