
dead | dead: adj. 1 deceased, defunct, extinct, gone, departed, late, lifeless, no more, Colloq done for, Slang Brit gone for a burton: Both his parents are dead, and his only brother lives in Australia. Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime. 2 insensate, insensible, numb, paralysed, benumbed, unfeeling: After the accident, my left thumb was completely dead. 3 insensible, unconscious, out, dead to the world, deathlike, deathly: At the news of her son, she fell in a dead faint. 4 insensitive, unemotional, unfeeling, emotionless, apathetic, lukewarm, cool, cold, frigid, unresponsive, unsympathetic, indifferent, unconcerned, uninterested; numb, wooden, callous, hardened, impervious, inured, inert: He has always been dead to others'' problems. 5 out, smothered, extinguished: The fire is dead. 6 inanimate, lifeless, inert, inorganic: Dead stones speak volumes to the geologist. 7 extinct, obsolete, perished, past, outmoded, disused, expired, pass�: Latin is a dead language. 8 barren, unfruitful, infertile, unproductive: That area off the coast is dead as far as fishing goes. 9 tired (out), exhausted, worn out, fatigued, tired out, spent, collapsing, in a state of collapse, Slang bushed, beat, Brit knackered, US and Canadian pooped: We were completely dead after the hike into town. 10 dull, lustreless, flat, neutral, vapid, empty, bland, colourless, grey, beige, dun: The walls of the prison were painted a dead white. 11 stagnant, motionless, still, standing, static, inert, unmoving, inactive, quiet, calm: There were small pools of dead water covered with a green slime. Without a breath of air stirring, the boat was dead in the water. 12 boring, dull, tedious, tiresome, monotonous, prosaic, uninteresting, run-of-the-mill, ordinary, commonplace, dry, insipid, bland, flat, two-dimensional, lifeless, stiff, rigid, stony: The play was bad, the performance dead. 13 dull, muffled, deadened, anechoic, unresounding, non-resonant: One room in the laboratory was built to be dead to all sound. 14 complete, entire, total, absolute, downright, thorough, through and through, utter, all-out, out-and-out, unqualified, unrelieved, unbroken, categorical, outright: My investment in the anti-gravity pill has so far been a dead loss. 15 profound, deep: I fell into a dead sleep. 16 sudden, abrupt, complete, full: The train came to a dead stop. 17 certain, sure, unerring, exact, precise, accurate, crack: According to the records, Calamity Jane was a dead shot. --adv. 18 completely, entirely, absolutely, totally, utterly, categorically, thoroughly, unconditionally, unqualifiedly: You are dead right about Pontefract. 19 completely, entirely, absolutely, totally; abruptly, suddenly: He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me. 20 directly, exactly, precisely: An enormous maelstrom lay dead ahead of the fragile craft. --n. 21 depth(s), extreme, midst, middle: She used to visit his room in the dead of night.
deaden | deaden: v. 1 numb, benumb, paralyse, anaesthetize, desensitize, dull; damp: This injection will deaden your hand and you''ll feel no pain. 2 weaken, moderate, soothe, mitigate, assuage, reduce, lessen, diminish, alleviate, cushion, soften, mollify, blunt, dull: He took to drink to deaden the shock of losing his only son.
deadlock | deadlock: n. 1 standstill, impasse, stalemate, stand-off, draw, stoppage, Colloq US Mexican stand-off: Union and management negotiators have reached a deadlock on the pension issue. --v. 2 bring or come to a standstill or impasse, stall, stop, halt: The Congress is likely to deadlock on the question of expanding national health benefits.
deadly | deadly: adj. 1 lethal, fatal; dangerous, pernicious, poisonous, noxious, toxic; baleful, harmful, nocuous: This drug is deadly if taken in large doses. 2 mortal, implacable, ruthless, savage: They were deadly enemies long after the war was over. 3 murderous, homicidal, bloodthirsty, brutal, vicious, ferocious, barbarous, barbaric, savage, inhuman, cold-blooded, heartless, ruthless, pitiless, merciless: Two deadly killers have escaped from Dartmoor prison. 4 deathly, deathlike, pale, pallid, ghostly, cadaverous, ghastly, wan, white, livid, ashen: He turned a deadly hue, as if he had seen a ghost. 5 boring, excruciating, dull, tiresome, tedious, dreary, humdrum, lacklustre, wearying, wearisome: It was a deadly play put on by deadly actors. 6 exact, precise, accurate, true, unerring, unfailing: Each arrow hit the bull''s-eye with deadly accuracy.
deaf | deaf: adj. 1 hard of hearing, stone-deaf: Sean is slightly deaf in his left ear. 2 unhearing, unheedful, heedless, insensible, insensitive, impervious, indifferent, oblivious, unresponsive, unmoved, unconcerned, unyielding: The judge was deaf to all appeals for clemency.
deal | deal: v. 1 distribute, dole out, give out, parcel out, mete out, allot, apportion, administer, dispense: Deal thirteen cards to each of the four players. She dealt out her own brand of justice to criminals. 2 buy and sell, handle, stock, do business, trade, traffic: This shop deals only in the most expensive linens. 3 behave, act, conduct oneself: Simon has never dealt openly, so you mustn''t trust him. 4 deal with. treat, handle, take care of, have to do with, attend to, see to, reckon with, grapple with, act on; practise, administer, engage in: I shall deal with the matter tomorrow. --n. 5 transaction, arrangement, negotiation, agreement, contract, bargain, understanding: The deal to sell the textbook division is off. 6 Often, great deal. (large or great) amount, lot, (large or huge) quantity; extent: There''s been a great deal of crime in that neighbourhood.
dealer | dealer: n. trader, businessman, businesswoman, merchant, tradesman, retailer, shopkeeper, vendor, merchandiser; wholesaler, jobber, distributor, stockist, supplier; broker, agent, salesman, US storekeeper: He has been a dealer in precious gems for years.
dealings | dealings: n.pl. business, commerce, exchange, trade, traffic, transactions, negotiations; relations, relationships, affairs: All his business dealings are reviewed by his solicitor.
dear | dear: adj. 1 beloved, loved, adored, darling, precious, cherished, prized, valued, treasured, favoured, favourite, pet, esteemed, admired, venerated, honoured: He was my nearest and dearest friend. 2 expensive, costly, high-priced, highly priced, Colloq pricey: Tomatoes are much too dear at this time of the year. --n. 3 darling, sweetheart, beloved, love, true-love, sweet, honey, precious, pet, favourite, treasure, precious, Colloq sweetie, sweetie-pie, Slang baby: My dear, I hope we''ll be together always. --adv. 4 dearly; at great cost or expense, at a high or excessive price: That little error will cost you dear, my friend.
dearly | dearly: adv. 1 greatly, very much, indeed, sincerely: I should dearly like to go, but I cannot. 2 affectionately, fondly, lovingly, tenderly: He loves his mother very dearly. 3 expensively, dear, at great cost or expense, at a high or excessive price, punitively: The victory at Thalamos was dearly bought.
dearth | dearth: n. scarcity, want, need, lack, deficiency, sparseness or sparsity, scantiness, insufficiency, inadequacy, shortage, paucity, exiguity, poverty, exiguousness; absence: There is a dearth of major roles for black actors.
death | death: n. 1 demise, decease, passing, dying, end: She was overcome with grief at the news of his death. 2 end, termination, cessation, expiration, expiry: Nobody mourned the death of the bill in the lower house. 3 end, finish, termination; extinction, destruction, extermination, annihilation, eradication, obliteration, eradication, extirpation, liquidation, ruin, downfall, undoing: The invasion marked the death of the Roman Empire.
deathless | deathless: adj. eternal, everlasting, immortal, undying, imperishable, permanent, unending, timeless, never-ending: In his opinion, his novel was another example of his deathless prose.
debase | debase: v. 1 lower, degrade, devalue, depreciate, depress, demote, deprecate, belittle, diminish, reduce, disparage: Words which denote fine qualities are in time debased. 2 adulterate, contaminate, taint, pollute, corrupt, mar, spoil, impair, vitiate, abase, defile, bastardize; poison: To increase profits, the manufacturer has debased the traditional formula.
debatable | debatable: adj. controversial, arguable, questionable, doubtful, dubious, problematic or problematical, disputable, open or subject to dispute or doubt or question, in dispute or doubt or question, moot, polemic or polemical, unsure, uncertain, unsettled, undecided: Whether he is the best person for the job is debatable.
debate | debate: n. 1 discussion, argument, dispute, altercation, controversy, wrangle, contention, polemic; argumentation: I refuse to take sides in the debate over social services. 2 deliberation, consideration, (careful) thought, reflection, cogitation, meditation, contemplation: Payment of reparations to the victims of the disaster is a matter for debate. --v. 3 argue, wrangle, dispute, contest, contend; discuss, moot, question: We debated only the most important issues. 4 deliberate, consider, reflect (on), mull over, ponder (over), weigh, ruminate (over), meditate (on or over), think (over or on), think through: I have often debated in my own mind the question of capital punishment.
debonair | debonair: adj. 1 suave, soign�(e), elegant, urbane, refined, dapper, genteel, well-bred, courteous, civil, mannerly, gracious, polite, affable, obliging, pleasant, Colloq smooth: Despite his vicious temper, he was most debonair in company. 2 carefree, insouciant, gay, nonchalant, light-hearted, dashing, charming, cheerful, buoyant, jaunty, sprightly: Being handsome and debonair, he was much sought after by hostesses.
debt | debt: n. 1 obligation; due, indebtedness, liability, responsibility, accountability, encumbrance: He owes a debt of gratitude to his wife for her moral support. The company takes care of all debts promptly. 2 in debt. under obligation, owing, accountable, beholden, indebted, responsible, answerable for, liable, encumbered, in arrears, straitened, in dire straits, in (financial) difficulty or difficulties, in the red, Colloq US and Canadian in hock: I shall always be in debt to you for your help. The London branch is in debt for ten million pounds.
decadent | decadent: adj. 1 declining, decaying, deteriorating, debased, degenerating, falling off, on the wane, withering, degenerative: The decadent literature of the period was a reflection of the decline in moral standards. 2 corrupt, dissolute, immoral, debauched, dissipated, self-indulgent, degenerate: His decadent behaviour brought him to the attention of the police.
decay | decay: v. 1 a decline, wane, ebb, dwindle, diminish, decrease: The magnetic field rapidly decays when the power is removed. b decline, waste away, atrophy, weaken, wither, degenerate, deteriorate, disintegrate; crumble: Her great beauty decayed quickly. 2 rot, decompose, moulder, putrefy, spoil; turn, go bad, go off: The flesh has decayed and only a skeleton remains. --n. 3 decline, weakening, failing, fading, deterioration, decadence, degeneration, wasting, atrophy, dilapidation, disintegration, collapse; downfall: The buildings were in an advanced state of decay. 4 rot, rotting, decomposition, mould, putrefaction, mortification: The decay has weakened the timbers supporting the bridge.
deceit | deceit: n. 1 deception, deceitfulness, fraud, fraudulence, cheating, trickery, chicanery or chicane, dissimulation, dishonesty, misrepresentation, double-dealing, duplicity, hypocrisy, treachery, underhandedness, guile, craft, slyness, craftiness, cunning, knavery, funny business, Colloq hanky-panky, monkey business: Inside traders on the Stock Exchange profit enormously from deceit. 2 trick, subterfuge, stratagem, ploy, ruse, manoeuvre, artifice, wile, hoax, swindle, double-cross, misrepresentation, pretence, sham, contrivance, shift, confidence trick, subreption, gloze, Brit dialect or colloq US flam; Colloq flimflam; Slang scam, con, con trick, con game: She was sick of all his lies and deceits.
deceitful | deceitful: adj. dishonest, underhand(ed), untrustworthy, misleading, crooked, insincere, false, fraudulent, counterfeit, disingenuous, lying, mendacious, untruthful; wily, crafty, sly, cunning, scheming, guileful, artful, sneaky, double-dealing, two-faced, hypocritical, duplicitous, Colloq phoney or US also phony: It was deceitful of you to pretend you loved her when all you wanted was her money.
deceive | deceive: v. mislead, delude, impose on or upon, fool, hoax, trick, cheat, swindle, betray, double-cross, lead on, lead up or down the garden path, lead astray, pull the wool over (someone''s) eyes, inveigle, cajole, Archaic cozen; Colloq con, bamboozle, take in, take for a ride, two-time, move the goalposts; Slang US take: He deceived even his friends and family into believing he had been a war hero.
decent | decent: adj. 1 becoming, suitable, appropriate, proper, seemly, fitting: Despite the life she led, the woman should have a decent burial. 2 seemly, decorous, tasteful, dignified, mannerly, nice, clean, respectable, polite, modest, presentable, acceptable: Hereafter, you will use only decent language when speaking to me! 3 adequate, acceptable, passable, fair, competent, mediocre, middling, fair to middling, moderate, respectable, not bad, ordinary, so so, not outstanding, unimpressive, average, neither here nor there, all right, reasonable, tolerable, satisfactory, good enough, Colloq OK or okay: Sales in the first quarter were decent but hardly outstanding. 4 courteous, proper, right, fair, honest, honourable, friendly, considerate, gracious, nice, thoughtful, obliging, kind, generous, accommodating: You can count on David to do the decent thing. 5 chaste, pure, virtuous, modest, well-bred, decorous, well brought up, nice, respectable: Caroline is a decent girl, but no great brain or beauty.
deception | deception: n. 1 duplicity, deceit, intrigue, hypocrisy, fraud, cheating, trickery, chicanery or chicane, dissimulation, double-dealing, subterfuge, sophistry, treachery, knavery, tergiversation; see also deceit 1, above: He practised deception even in his family relationships. 2 trick, ruse, artifice, stratagem, subterfuge, manoeuvre, wile, imposture, hoax, sham, pretence; see also deceit 2, above: He tried every deception in the book to separate her from her money.
deceptive | deceptive: adj. 1 misleading, false, illusory, deceiving, unreliable: He has the look of an athlete, but appearances can be deceptive. 2 fraudulent, deceitful, dishonest, untruthful, fake, false, shifty, fallacious, specious, spurious, bogus, counterfeit, pseudo, sophistical; tricky, dodgy, evasive, elusive, slippery, Colloq phoney or US also phony: The bank is being deceptive about his credit rating.
decide | decide: v. 1 determine, settle, resolve, conclude, take or reach or come to a decision or conclusion, make up one''s mind, arbitrate, judge, adjudicate, referee, umpire: She decided that you were right. They decided the case in my favour. 2 decide on or upon. fix or fasten or settle on or upon, choose, select, pick (out), elect, opt (for), commit oneself (to): I have decided on a British-made car.
decided | decided: adj. 1 definite, pronounced, marked, unmistakable, unambiguous, unequivocal, certain, sure, absolute, obvious, clear, evident, unquestionable, unquestioned, indisputable, undisputed, undeniable, irrefutable, incontestable, unqualified, unconditional, incontrovertible, solid: The party was a decided success. 2 fixed, firm, resolute, determined, adamant, stony, unhesitating, decisive, definite, unfaltering, assertive, asseverative, unswerving, unwavering: They are decided in their approval of her plan.
decipher | decipher: v. 1 decode, decrypt; unravel, unscramble, disentangle, translate, work out, explain, solve, Colloq figure out: It was Champollion who deciphered the Rosetta Stone. 2 read, interpret, make out, Colloq figure out: I can''t decipher Theresa''s handwriting or what she''s trying to say.
decision | decision: n. 1 settlement, determination, resolution, settling, resolving, arbitration: The decision is the umpire''s responsibility. 2 judgement, conclusion, resolution, verdict, sentence, ruling, finding, decree, settlement, outcome: According to the decision, the victims will receive compensatory damages. 3 determination, firmness, decidedness, resolve, decisiveness, conclusiveness, steadfastness, purpose, purposefulness: She asserted her position with decision.
declaration | declaration: n. 1 statement, assertion, attestation, deposition, asseveration, affirmation, avowal, announcement, proclamation, pronouncement, profession: Henrietta desperately wanted to believe Henry''s declaration of love. 2 proclamation, announcement, pronouncement, promulgation, pronunciamento, edict, ukase, manifesto, notice: The colonists issued a declaration of independence.
declare | declare: v. 1 assert, say, offer, submit, affirm, state, aver, asseverate, avow, avouch, profess, protest, swear, claim, proclaim; confirm, certify, ratify: I solemnly declare that the testimony I am to give is true, so help me God. 2 announce, make known, pronounce, decree, rule, proclaim, herald, promulgate, publish, broadcast, trumpet (forth): Robert has declared his intention to make Marianne his wife.
decline | decline: v. 1 refuse, turn down, deny, reject, demur, forgo, veto, avoid, abstain from: She declined help with the packages. Roger was offered a professorship at the university but he declined. 2 diminish, lessen, decrease, wane, flag, go down, fall or taper off, subside, ebb, abate, dwindle, shrink, fade, Colloq peter out, run out of steam, US run out of gas: Demand for hula hoops declined. 3 slope or slant (downwards), descend, drop or fall off, dip, sink: The meadow declines towards the river. 4 deteriorate, degenerate, worsen, fail: My health has declined over the last year. 5 go or drop down, settle, dip, sink, set: The sun was declining as I went home. --n. 6 diminution, decrease, lessening, ebb, downturn, fall-off, reduction, abatement, slump, descent: There has been a steady decline in the value of the pound. 7 degeneration, deterioration, loss, diminution, weakening, debility, weakness, worsening, decay, failing: We noted a decline in the physical condition of those living nearby. 8 declivity, (downward) slope or slant, descent, downgrade, incline: The path led down a steep decline towards the pond.
decompose | decompose: v. 1 disintegrate, separate, fall or come apart, break up or down, take apart, dissect, anatomize, atomize, resolve, decompound, analyse: By absorption the scientists decomposed the green light into yellow and blue. 2 rot, disintegrate, decay, moulder, putrefy; spoil, go off or bad, turn sour: The meat will decompose if it is left outside the fridge.
decorate | decorate: v. 1 embellish, adorn, ornament, garnish, embroider, elaborate, bedeck, deck (out), trim, dress (up), spruce or smarten up, beautify, Literary caparison, Colloq Brit tart up: We decorated the pub for the Christmas holidays. 2 Brit paint, wallpaper, redecorate, furbish, refurbish, renovate, fix up, restore: All the bedrooms have been decorated.
decoration | decoration: n. 1 garnish, trim, trimming, adornment, embellishment, ornament, ornamentation, garnishment: There''s a bit too much decoration on the cake. 2 medal, laurel, award, badge, colours, order, ribbon, star, garter: Captain Harder won many decorations in the war.
decorous | decorous: adj. becoming, dignified, decent, correct, mannerly, seemly, refined, elegant, polite, well-behaved, genteel, demure, polished, gentlemanly, ladylike, seemly: Your behaviour was less than decorous at last night''s party.
decorum | decorum: n. 1 etiquette, proper behaviour, propriety, good form, mannerliness, politeness, dignity, gentility, good manners, respectability, courtliness, deportment: The decorum of the meeting was disturbed by rabble-rousers. 2 correctness, propriety, protocol, punctilio, conformity: Please observe proper decorum when visiting the embassy.
decoy | decoy: n. 1 bait, lure, trap, attraction, enticement, inducement, stool-pigeon: The hunters set out their decoys and waited for the ducks. --v. 2 lure, entrap, entice, attract, induce, seduce, bait, trick, tempt, ensnare, inveigle, allure: He was decoyed into a dark alley and robbed.
decrease | decrease: v. 1 diminish, reduce, decline, lessen, lower, abate, fall off, shrink, shrivel (up), contract, dwindle, ebb, subside, wane, taper off, de-escalate, slacken, let up, ease (off or up), curtail, cut (down or back), Colloq run out of steam, US run out of gas: Demand for tickets to rock concerts has decreased over the years. The number of applicants for work is decreasing. --n. 2 diminution, reduction, decline, lessening, lowering, abatement, falling off, shrinking, shrivelling, contraction, decrement, dwindling, ebb, subsidence, tapering off, wane, de-escalation, slackening, easing (off or up), curtailment, cut, cut-back: There has been no noticeable decrease in the price of houses in the south-east. Have you noticed the decrease in arrests for dangerous driving?
decree | decree: n. 1 order, mandate, directive, ordinance, edict, law, statute, regulation, enactment, act, ruling, dictum, dictate, injunction, sanction, manifesto, proclamation, promulgation, determination, decision, judgement, rescript, prescription, pronunciamento, firman, ukase, Rom Cath Ch decretal: The star chamber issued a decree restricting the freedom of the press. --v. 2 order, command, direct, rule, mandate, ordain, dictate, charge, enjoin, proclaim, pronounce, prescribe, decide, determine, adjudge, Scots law decern: The council has decreed that no spirits can be sold on Sundays.
decrepit | decrepit: adj. 1 feeble, enfeebled, weak, weakened, frail, infirm, wasted, worn out, unfit, debilitated, enervated, disabled, incapacitated, crippled, doddering; out of shape, in bad shape; aged, old, elderly, ancient, superannuated, senescent, senile, Colloq gaga: The old man was so decrepit he was unable to lift the cup to his lips. 2 dilapidated, deteriorated, crumbling, decayed, decaying, withered, wasted, antiquated, tumbledown, broken-down, rickety, unstable, shaky, ramshackle, derelict, creaking, creaky, run-down: The barn was so decrepit we had to tear it down.
decrepitude | decrepitude: n. 1 feebleness, weakness, infirmity, debilitation, enervation, incapacity, old age, superannuation, senescence, senility, caducity, dotage: Her decrepitude was so extreme that she could neither walk nor understand what was said to her. 2 dilapidation, deterioration, decay, ruin: The house is in an advanced state of decrepitude.
dedicate | dedicate: v. 1 devote, consecrate, give (up or over), yield, offer, surrender, commit, pledge, assign: She dedicated her life to helping the poor. 2 consecrate, bless, sanctify, hallow: There stands the temple dedicated to Apollo. 3 inscribe; address, assign: This book has been dedicated to you.
dedication | dedication: n. 1 devotion, assignment, pledge, commitment, allegiance, adherence, faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, devotedness, wholeheartedness, single-mindedness, fixedness, fealty: I admire Rudolph''s dedication to duty. 2 inscription, address; message: The dedication reads, ''To my mother and father''. 3 consecration, sanctification, hallowing: The ceremony for the dedication of the youth centre will be held tomorrow.
deduce | deduce: v. conclude, infer, understand, gather, assume, presume, derive, draw, work out, divine, glean, take it, suppose, surmise, suspect, Slang Brit suss out: From the tone of his letter she deduced that he was going to change his mind.
deduct | deduct: v. subtract, take away or out or off, take from, remove, withdraw, Colloq knock off: Deduct six from ten and you''re left with four.
deduction | deduction: n. 1 subtraction, diminution, decrease, reduction, withdrawal, removal, abstraction: After deductions for expenses, you''ll be left with nothing. 2 conclusion, inference, finding, reasoning, result: After considering the evidence, my deduction is that the butler didn''t do it.
deed | deed: n. 1 act, action; performance: Their deeds did not match their promises. 2 exploit, feat, achievement, accomplishment: We are here to honour her for her many deeds, both on and off the tennis court. 3 title(-deed), document, instrument, indenture, contract, agreement: The bank holds the title-deed until the mortgage is paid off.
deep | deep: adj. 1 extensive, bottomless, abyssal, unfathomable, profound; wide, broad, yawning, chasmal or chasmic: All our supplies were lost in a deep crevasse in the glacier. 2 profound, arcane, recondite, difficult, abstruse, obscure, esoteric, incomprehensible, beyond or past comprehension, impenetrable, unfathomable, inscrutable, mysterious, mystic(al), occult, weighty, serious, Colloq heavy: Religious philosophy is too deep a subject to discuss at breakfast. 3 wise, learned, sage, sagacious, astute, perspicacious, profound, discerning, acute, intense, penetrating, knowledgeable, knowing: Margaret is one of the deepest thinkers on the subject. 4 rapt, absorbed, engrossed, occupied, preoccupied, intent, intense, involved, engaged, immersed, lost, Colloq into: Don''t disturb him when he''s deep in thought. 5 devious, cunning, shrewd, crafty, canny, clever, knowing, scheming, artful, designing: He thinks there is a deep plot against him. 6 profound, intense, sincere, serious, heartfelt, earnest, ardent, fervent, poignant, deep-rooted: I know of your deep concern for her. 7 low, resonant, booming, resounding, sonorous, rumbling: The deep sound of thunder rolled across the valley. 8 rich, dark, intense, strong: The sky was a deep blue. --n. 9 the deep. the ocean, the main, the sea, the waters, the high seas, the briny (deep), the wave(s), Davy Jones''s locker, Neptune''s or Poseidon''s kingdom or domain: It was midnight on the waters and a storm was on the deep. --adv. 10 deeply, far down, profoundly, intensely, earnestly, heavily: We drank deep of the cooling liquid.
deepen | deepen: v. 1 dig out, burrow, sink, dredge, excavate, scoop (out): We''ll have to deepen the hole to support the flag-pole. 2 intensify, increase, concentrate, strengthen, expand, magnify: The programme reflects a deepening interest in education.
deeply | deeply: adv. 1 deep, (far) downwards or inwards, way down, deep down: The glacier was deeply fissured. She swam to the surface and inhaled deeply. 2 profoundly, intensely, strongly, powerfully, very much, acutely, keenly, gravely, greatly, to a great extent, extremely, thoroughly, completely, entirely, seriously, severely, irrevocably, unreservedly; passionately, heavily, emotionally: She is deeply involved with a man from Kent. They were deeply committed to the labour movement.
deface | deface: v. mar, disfigure, spoil, ruin, deform, blemish, damage, mutilate, harm, impair, injure, destroy: Nothing should be allowed to deface the beauty of these buildings.
default | default: n. 1 failure, fault, defect, neglect, negligence, dereliction, lapse, oversight, non-performance, non-fulfilment, inaction: We won the case because of their default on the contract. The other contestant failed to appear, so Gordon won the match by default. 2 non-payment, delinquency: Default in the rent may result in eviction. --v. 3 fail, neglect, dishonour, lapse, fall short, come (up) short: He has defaulted on a car payment.
defeat | defeat: v. 1 overcome, conquer, vanquish, be victorious over, get the better of, beat, subdue, overwhelm, overpower, prevail over, triumph over, bring down, worst, thrash, rout, repulse, overthrow, trounce, whip, crush, destroy, do in, best: The champion defeated the contender in a ten-round match. 2 thwart, frustrate, disappoint, check, balk, stop, terminate, end, finish, foil: He never let his handicap defeat his hopes of winning. --n. 3 conquest, overthrow, beating, repulse, trouncing, rout, vanquishment: The defeat of our team must be charged to lack of training. 4 frustration, undoing, failure, miscarriage, set-back; Waterloo: The stock market crash spelled the defeat of the company''s plan for a share issue.
defecate | defecate: v. void (excrement), move the bowels, excrete, eliminate, evacuate (the bowels), have a (bowel) movement or bm, open the bowels, relieve oneself, Babytalk do number two , Euphemistic go to the men''s or ladies'' (room), go to the toilet or bathroom or lavatory, excuse (oneself), wash (one''s) hands, go to the bathroom, go to the powder-room; Mincing go to the little boys'' or girls'' room; Colloq Brit spend a penny, Colloq Brit go to the loo, pass a motion, Taboo slang (take a) crap or shit: The first symptoms of bowel disease are problems when defecating.
defect | defect: n. 1 shortcoming, deficiency, lack, want, inadequacy, insufficiency, shortfall, failure, weakness, frailty, weak point, imperfection, irregularity, liability: See the doctor about that hearing defect. 2 blemish, imperfection, failing, weakness, flaw, fault, mark, stain, irregularity, mistake, error: The products should be inspected for defects before shipping. --v. 3 desert, change sides or loyalties, turn traitor, go over; escape: Ropovich tried to defect, but the Albanians sent him back.
defective | defective: adj. 1 imperfect, faulty, flawed, deficient, broken, out of order, impaired, marred, Colloq on the blink, US on the fritz: The brakes on his car were defective. 2 retarded, simple, feeble-minded, (mentally) deficient or incompetent, backward, subnormal, Brit education ESN (''educationally subnormal''), US education exceptional: Found to be defective, he could not stand trial.
defector | defector: n. deserter, apostate, turncoat, traitor, renegade, Colloq rat: Some political defectors were suspected of being spies.
defence | defence: n. 1 shelter, protection, cover, guard, safeguard, shield: There is no defence against certain illnesses. 2 fortification, armour, barricade, screen, bulwark, rampart: Shore defences were set up, including barbed wire entanglements and concrete pillboxes. 3 excuse, apology, reason, apologia, explanation; justification, vindication, argument, plea, advocacy, support: His defence for decreasing welfare payments was inadequate. She spoke in defence of nationalizing industry.
defenceless | defenceless: adj. unprotected, exposed, vulnerable, unguarded; helpless, weak, powerless, impotent: Would you take advantage of a poor, defenceless creature?
defend | defend: v. 1 protect, watch over, guard, safeguard, keep (safe), shelter, shield, screen, preserve; fight for: We must defend our civil rights. 2 fortify, arm, secure; fend or ward off, parry: Can you defend your position from attack? 3 plead for, speak or stand up for, stick up for, go to bat for, support, uphold, stand by, champion, stand with or behind or beside, argue for or in behalf of, hold a brief for, espouse: The lawyers defended her right to free speech.
defer� | defer�: v. put off, postpone, delay, shelve, lay or put aside, adjourn, US table; Colloq Brit kick into touch: The judge has deferred his decision.
defer� | defer�: v. Often, defer to. give in (to), give ground or way (to), yield (to), submit (to), bow (to), capitulate (to), cede (to), accede (to), acquiesce (to); comply (with), agree (to): I''ll defer to your decision in the matter.
deference | deference: n. 1 respect, regard, politeness, civility, courtesy, consideration, esteem: They treated him with deference owing to his age. 2 obeisance, submission, acquiescence, obedience, compliance: Considering her accomplishments, she is paid little deference.
defiant | defiant: adj. challenging, bold, brazen, audacious, daring; rebellious, disobedient, stubborn, recalcitrant, obstinate, refractory, unyielding, insubordinate, mutinous, unruly, self-willed, aggressive, headstrong, contumacious, pugnacious, hostile, belligerent, antagonistic, Slang gutsy, spunky: His defiant attitude towards authority often gets him into trouble.
deficient | deficient: adj. 1 wanting, lacking, defective, incomplete, unfinished, short, insufficient, inadequate, sketchy, skimpy, scarce: Some foods are deficient in vitamins. 2 faulty, impaired, flawed, imperfect, incomplete, defective, inferior, unsatisfactory: Many have a deficient knowledge of their legal rights.
deficit | deficit: n. loss, deficiency, shortfall, shortage, default: At the end of the year there was a considerable deficit.
define | define: v. 1 determine, establish, fix, demarcate, mark off or out, delimit, limit, lay or set down, circumscribe, specify,, identify, delineate, describe: You must first define the subjects to be covered. 2 describe, explain, interpret, spell out, detail, clarify, delineate, expand on, expatiate on or upon, delineate; characterize, state, name: No one dictionary defines all the words of a language. Please define exactly what you want me to do.
definite | definite: adj. 1 specific, particular, exact, pronounced, explicit, express, precise: She came here with a definite purpose. 2 sure, positive, certain, assured, fixed, settled, confirmed: Then we have a definite appointment for two o''clock? 3 clear, plain, well-defined, unambiguous, unequivocal, distinct, clear-cut, obvious: The plans for revision are definite.
definitely | definitely: adv. positively, absolutely, surely, to be sure, assuredly, certainly, indubitably, undoubtedly, categorically, unequivocally, unquestionably, decidedly, finally, once and for all; plainly, clearly, obviously, patently: Then you''re definitely not going to the dance with Waldo? That was definitely the worst movie of the year.
definition | definition: n. 1 delineation, delimitation, demarcation, outlining; acutance, resolution, distinctness, clarity, sharpness, focus, precision: The definition at the edge of the photograph is fuzzy. 2 description, explanation, explication, clarification, statement (of meaning), sense, meaning: How many definitions are there for the word ''good''?
definitive | definitive: adj. 1 decisive, final, conclusive, ultimate: My definitive answer will be given tomorrow. 2 thorough, through and through, exhaustive, ultimate, consummate, complete, authoritative, reliable: She has written the definitive work on the axolotl. 3 clarifying, unambiguous, categorical, absolute, unqualified, accurate, exact, precise: We expect a definitive statement from the union regarding their claims.
deflect | deflect: v. avert, turn away or aside, deviate, change, swerve, switch, divert, shy, veer, sidetrack; fend off: The trajectory of a bullet is deflected by gravity. By deflecting a bit to their left, they managed to regain their original course.
deformed | deformed: adj. 1 misshapen, malformed, distorted, twisted, grotesque, gnarled, crooked, contorted, awry, warped, bent: This tree is deformed because of the constant wind. 2 disfigured, crippled, lame, misshapen; abnormal: He was born with a deformed foot. 3 distorted, warped, bent, perverted, twisted, grotesque; abnormal: The deformed personalities of his patients are the subject of my book.
defraud | defraud: v. cheat, swindle, trick, beguile, cozen, dupe, delude, fool, bilk, fleece, victimize, take in, deceive, humbug, hoodwink, flimflam, Colloq do, diddle, con, slip one over on, put (something) over on, pull a fast one on, fast-talk, rope in,, US take; Slang take for a ride, gyp, rob, rip off, rook; Dialect flam: Shareholders are defrauded by insider trading schemes.
defray | defray: v. pay, settle, meet, discharge, liquidate, clear, cover, reimburse, Colloq pick up the bill or tab or US check (for), foot the bill (for): The company defrays the cost of all travelling expenses.
defunct | defunct: adj. 1 dead, deceased, extinct: The dinosaurs have been defunct for millions of years. 2 inoperative, inapplicable, unused, unusable, invalid, expired, obsolete, pass�, dead, expired, non-existent, outmoded, out: Although still on the books, that law is defunct.
defy | defy: v. 1 challenge, dare, face, confront, brave, stand up to, flout, brazen out, thumb one''s nose at, Colloq Brit cock a snook at: The defendant defied the prosecutor to prove the allegations. 2 frustrate, thwart, baffle, resist, withstand, repel, disobey, repulse: Her feats of legerdemain defy the imagination. Copeley has invented a device that defies the law of gravity.
degenerate | degenerate: adj. 1 debased, degraded, corrupt, corrupted, vitiated, decadent, depraved, reprobate, dissolute, ignoble, base, low, inferior, vile: He was a degenerate descendant of a once noble lineage. Ben sank into the depths of a degenerate existence after Penelope left him. --v. 2 decline, deteriorate, decay, sink, worsen; backslide, regress, retrogress, weaken, go to the dogs, go to rack and ruin, Colloq go to pot: He felt that art had degenerated since the days of Rembrandt. --n. 3 reprobate, debauchee, wastrel, profligate, rake, rakehell, rou�; pervert, deviate: The detective said that only a degenerate could have committed such a crime.
degradation | degradation: n. 1 degeneracy, degeneration, deterioration, corruptness, corruption, vitiation, baseness, depravity, turpitude: History records the moral degradation of a whole society. 2 disrepute, discredit, shame, humiliation, ignominy, dishonour, disgrace, abasement, debasement: He had to face the degradation of an accusation of child molestation.
degrade | degrade: v. 1 downgrade, demote, break, Military cashier, Ecclesiastical unfrock, Law disbar; depose, unseat; disfranchise or disenfranchise; Military drum out (of the corps), Chiefly naval disrate; US military bust: They degraded him from captain to lieutenant. 2 disgrace, dishonour, humble, shame, discredit, debase, demean, abase; humiliate, mortify, belittle, deprecate, depreciate, cheapen, reduce, lower: He has been degraded to mopping the floor. 3 dilute, adulterate, weaken, thin, water (down), alloy: Cologne is, essentially, degraded perfume.
degrading | degrading: adj. demeaning, humiliating, shameful, shaming, debasing, lowering, discreditable: Why should you deem selling a degrading occupation?
degree | degree: n. 1 grade, level, stage, class, caste, rank, order, scale, standing, status, station, position, situation, estate, condition: He is entertaining a lady of high degree. 2 measure, magnitude, extent, limit, point; lengths, step: All our needs, desires, and goals are biologically determined to some degree. 3 by degrees. little by little, bit by bit, step by step, inch by inch, inchmeal, gradually, slowly, (almost) imperceptibly: By degrees, her health has improved. 4 to a degree. a rather, somewhat, quite: She is to a degree a better dancer than he. b substantially, considerably, highly, decidedly, exceedingly, to a considerable extent: She must be stupid to a degree if she believes in levitation.
deign | deign: v. condescend, stoop, vouchsafe, concede; yield, agree: Lord Worthington deigned to say good morning to us.
deity | deity: n. god, goddess, Supreme Being, creator, demiurge: Deities in various religions are represented as men, women, or animals.
dejected | dejected: adj. downcast, downhearted, depressed, dispirited, discouraged, despondent, down, low, chap-fallen, crestfallen, melancholy, sad, unhappy, gloomy, glum, miserable, blue, low-spirited, in low spirits, forlorn, woebegone, disconsolate, sorrowful, morose, heartbroken, heavy-hearted, in the doldrums, Colloq down in the dumps, down in the mouth: She was bound to feel dejected when she couldn''t find a job.
delay | delay: v. 1 postpone, put off or aside, defer, temporize, suspend, shelve, hold off or up (on), put on hold, hold in abeyance, put or keep in a holding pattern, pigeon-hole, put on ice, put in or into the deep-freeze, Colloq put on the back burner, Brit kick into touch, US hold off or up (on), table: We shall delay our decision till next month. 2 hold up or back, detain, impede, hinder, retard, keep, bog down, set back, slow (up or down); stop, arrest, halt, check; obstruct: Delivery of the mail has been delayed by the strike. We were delayed by traffic. 3 loiter, procrastinate, hesitate, poke or drag (along), tarry, wait, lag (behind), dawdle, hang back, stall, linger, dally, mark time, potter or US putter; vacillate; Colloq dilly-dally, shilly-shally, drag one''s feet: Stop delaying and get to work. --n. 4 postponement, deferral, deferment, wait, hold-up; set-back: There will be a ten-day delay in paying the rent. 5 lull, interlude, hiatus, interruption, gap, interval, lacuna, stop, stoppage, wait, waiting, hold-up, suspension: After an hour''s delay, service was resumed. 6 tarrying, loitering, dawdling, Colloq dilly-dallying, shilly-shallying: There should be no further delay in shipping the order.
delectation | delectation: n. delight, enjoyment, amusement, entertainment, diversion, pleasure, satisfaction: For your delectation, Le Moulin Rouge presents La Goulue!
delegate | delegate: n. 1 envoy, agent, legate, representative, ambassador, plenipotentiary, minister, emissary, commissioner, (papal) nuncio, (papal) internuncio, spokesperson, spokesman, spokeswoman, go-between: They kowtowed to the delegate from His Imperial Highness. --v. 2 depute, commission, appoint, designate, assign, name, nominate, accredit, authorize, empower, mandate: The president delegated Ambassador Foxley to represent him at the meeting. 3 assign, give, hand over or on, pass over or on, depute, transfer, entrust, relegate, Colloq pass the buck for, US buck: She has delegated the responsibility to one of the directors.
delete | delete: v. erase, cancel, rub or cross out or off, remove, blot out, expunge, efface, eliminate, obliterate, wipe out, eradicate, strike out, cut or edit (out), Publishing blue-pencil; Printing dele: Delete the old address and insert the new one.
deliberate | deliberate: adj. 1 intentional, planned, studied, wilful, intended, premeditated, calculated, conscious, prearranged, purposeful, preconceived, considered; cold-blooded: The insult was deliberate, not a slip. 2 slow, methodical, careful, unhurried, paced, measured, regular, even, steady, sure, unhesitating, unfaltering, confident: He moved across the room with a deliberate step and tore the medals from the general''s tunic. 3 careful, prudent, cautious, painstaking, discreet, considered, considerate, thoughtful, well thought out, thorough, methodical, systematic, fastidious, orderly, punctilious, dispassionate, cool, composed, collected, calm, serene, unruffled: A deliberate speaker, he chose his words with care. --v. 4 consider, ponder, think (about or over), weigh, debate, meditate (on or over), reflect (on or over), cogitate (on or over), study: I shall need a few days to deliberate on that question.
deliberately | deliberately: adv. intentionally, on purpose, purposely, wilfully or US willfully, consciously, wittingly, calculatedly, calculatingly, knowingly, pointedly, resolutely, of one''s (own) free will, on one''s own, with one''s eyes (wide) open: She did that deliberately, not by accident.
delicacy | delicacy: n. 1 fineness, exquisiteness, gracefulness, beauty, lightness, daintiness: Notice the delicacy of the tracery in the rose window. 2 fragility, fragileness, frailty, frailness, weakness, infirmity, feebleness, tenderness; susceptibility: Because of the delicacy of his constitution, even a cold might be fatal. 3 sensitivity, difficulty, ticklishness, finesse, nicety, sensibility: The delicacy of the situation demands the utmost diplomacy. 4 luxury, sweetmeat, dainty, titbit or US tidbit, savoury: The table was laden with delicacies from all over the world.
delicate | delicate: adj. 1 fragile, breakable, frail, tender, frangible, dainty; perishable, flimsy: This filament is extremely delicate, so be careful. 2 fine, exquisite, dainty, graceful, elegant, subtle: A delicate border of lace sets off the collar. 3 feeble, weak, sickly, frail, debilitated, weakened, enfeebled, unhealthy: Her condition is too delicate for her to be moved. 4 critical, ticklish, sensitive, dangerous, tricky, precarious, touchy, Slang hairy; Colloq sticky: Rescuing the survivors of the avalanche was a delicate operation. 5 dainty, squeamish, queasy, fastidious, prudish, Victorian, finicky, finical, refined, discriminating, discerning, sensitive, puristic, proper, coy, modest, demure: In those days ladies were thought to be too delicate to mention such matters. 6 gradual, subtle, nice, precise, muted, soft, faint, subdued: The delicate shading at the horizon is characteristic of this artist.
delicious | delicious: adj. 1 delectable, luscious, ambrosial, savoury, mouth-watering, toothsome; choice, flavourful, tasty, appetizing, palatable, Colloq scrumptious; Slang yummy: Larry''s fried chicken is quite delicious. 2 enjoyable, delightful, pleasurable, pleasing, pleasant, choice, enchanting, fascinating; agreeable, charming, engaging; amusing, entertaining: I heard the most delicious bit of gossip about the Browns.
delight | delight: v. 1 please, gratify, satisfy, gladden, cheer, tickle, amuse, entertain, divert, excite, thrill, captivate, entrance, fascinate: We were delighted to hear the Mighty Allen Art Players once again. 2 delight in. enjoy, appreciate, like, relish (in), savour, revel in, glory in; love, adore; Colloq get a kick from or out of; Slang get off on: She delights in any kind of jazz. --n. 3 pleasure, gratification, joy, satisfaction, enjoyment, delectation; bliss, ecstasy, rapture: She takes great delight in playing practical jokes on her guests. In his dreams he visited the garden of earthly delights.
delighted | delighted: adj. pleased, happy, charmed, thrilled, enchanted, enchant�(e): I am delighted to meet you. ''Miss Smith, meet Mr Brown.'' ''Delighted!''
delightful | delightful: adj. 1 pleasing, agreeable, pleasurable, enjoyable, joyful, pleasant, lovely, amusing, entertaining, diverting, exciting, thrilling: We spent a delightful evening together. 2 attractive, congenial, winning, winsome, charming, engaging, exciting; captivating, ravishing, fascinating, enchanting: Georgina is one of the most delightful people I have met in a long time.
delinquent | delinquent: n. 1 malefactor, (young or youthful) offender, wrongdoer, lawbreaker, culprit, criminal, miscreant; hooligan, ruffian, roughneck: The police rounded up six juvenile delinquents and charged them with rowdyism. --adj. 2 neglectful, negligent, derelict, remiss, failing, defaulting: I have been delinquent in my obligations to my mother. 3 overdue, past due, in arrears, late, unpaid: All these delinquent accounts should be collected as soon as possible.
delirious | delirious: adj. 1 wild, hysterical, distracted, incoherent, rambling, irrational, raving, ranting, frenzied, frantic, disturbed, demented, deranged, unhinged, mad, insane, crazy, lunatic: He is still delirious and doesn''t know what he''s saying. 2 wild, excited, crazed, thrilled, ecstatic: She was delirious with joy that Ken was coming home.
deliver | deliver: v. 1 carry, bring, convey, distribute, give or hand out; purvey, take round; cart, transport: Only in a few places in the world do they still deliver milk to the door. 2 hand over, give, surrender, cede, yield, make over, relinquish, give up or over, commit, transfer, turn over, resign: We were forced to deliver our children to the enemy as hostages. 3 set free, liberate, enfranchise, extricate, release, save, rescue; emancipate, manumit, redeem; disencumber, disburden, ransom: They were delivered from certain death by the arrival of the helicopter. Modern appliances have delivered millions of women from the drudgery of housework. 4 give, present, utter, read, broadcast; proclaim, announce, declare, set forth, communicate, make known, express, publish, hand over, hand out, promulgate, pronounce, enunciate: He has to deliver a speech tonight. The police delivered an ultimatum to the terrorists. 5 give, administer, inflict, deal, direct, send, launch, impart, throw; cast, hurl, shoot, discharge, fire: He delivered a blow on the chin that knocked me out. The ball was delivered with enormous speed. 6 bring forth, bear, give birth to, bring into the world: In the next three years, she delivered three more girls. 7 produce, perform, put one''s money where one''s mouth is: Roger had better deliver, or we shall have to take drastic measures.
delivery | delivery: n. 1 distribution, delivering, deliverance, conveyance, transportation, transport: The strikers have caused delivery of newspapers to stop. 2 liberation, release, deliverance, emancipation: His delivery from poverty was still a few years away. 3 childbirth, parturition; confinement: Many women find that their second child is an easier delivery. 4 presentation, performance; utterance, enunciation, articulation, pronunciation, expression, execution: He is an accomplished orator, with a spellbinding delivery.
delusion | delusion: n. 1 deception, trick, stratagem, artifice, ruse, pretence: It was a snare and a delusion to represent the painting as genuine. 2 false or mistaken impression, fallacy, illusion, mistake, error, misconception, misbelief, hallucination: He suffers under the delusion that he is a great pianist.
demand | demand: v. 1 require, order, bid, call (for); insist, command: I demand that you retract that remark! She demanded to know where he was going. 2 claim, ask (for), require, insist on; exact: They had paid for tickets and demanded entrance. 3 require, call for, need, want, necessitate, cry out for: This superb dish demands an excellent claret. 4 ask (for), inquire or enquire, request; requisition: We demanded help from the police. --n. 5 request, bid, behest, requisition, order, insistence; outcry: Our demand for service went unheeded. 6 want, need, requirement, desire; market (demand), marketability; consumer or customer acceptance: The demand for our products is low at the moment. 7 in demand. wanted, needed, requested, coveted, popular, sought after, desired, desirable, Brit in request, US on request: Bright graduates are always in demand. 8 on demand. on call, on request, on presentation, when requested or required; at once, immediately, without delay: These notes are payable on demand.
demanding | demanding: adj. 1 difficult, hard, exigent, tough, exacting, trying, taxing: Edwards is a demanding boss. Diamond cutting is demanding work. 2 insistent, clamorous, urgent, nagging, persistent: Your demanding fans want another encore.
democratic | democratic: adj. egalitarian, classless; republican, representative, popular, self-governing, autonomous: The colonists voted for a democratic form of government.
demolish | demolish: v. 1 tear or pull down, dismantle, reduce to ruin(s), smash, pull to pieces, knock down, raze, topple, destroy, level: This building will have to be demolished to make room for the new shopping mall. 2 destroy, end, bring to an end, make an end of, put an end to, devastate, terminate, annihilate, overturn, overthrow, crush, defeat, refute, disprove, dispose of, suppress, squelch, quash: With just one phrase he demolished their entire argument.
demon | demon: n. 1 devil, evil spirit, fiend, cacodemon or cacodaemon; monster, ghoul, ogre, harpy, vampire: Medieval demons are generally depicted as having horns, hoofs, and tails. 2 fanatic, fiend, enthusiast, addict, Colloq freak: He''s a real speed demon when he gets onto the motorway.
demonstrable | demonstrable: adj. provable, confirmable, attestable, verifiable; evident, self-evident, obvious, undeniable, apparent, manifest, indisputable, unquestionable, positive, certain, conclusive: The judge showed a demonstrable bias against my client.
demonstrate | demonstrate: v. 1 show, prove, make evident, establish, evince, evidence, exhibit, manifest: The increase in arrests demonstrates the efficiency of the police. 2 display, explain, expose, describe, present; illustrate: The salesman demonstrated the new camera for us. 3 picket, march, parade, rally, protest: More than 5000 people demonstrated against the fraudulent election.
demonstration | demonstration: n. 1 proof, evidence, testimony, confirmation, verification, substantiation; manifestation, exhibition, display, illustration, indication: I have seen sufficient demonstration of her ineptitude. 2 presentation, display, show, explanation, description, clarification, elucidation, exposition, Colloq demo: The student gave an excellent demonstration of how a computer works. 3 picketing, march, parade, protest, rally, sit-in, Colloq Brit demo: There have been numerous demonstrations against the government''s policies.
demonstrative | demonstrative: adj. 1 open, unrestrained, unconstrained, unreserved, expansive, effusive, emotional, warm, tender, affectionate, loving: Pat is quite demonstrative, often causing me to blush. 2 illustrative, indicative, representative, probative, evidential; provable, evident: Her point was proved by several demonstrative arguments. The hostility of these few is demonstrative of what to expect of the entire group.
demoralize | demoralize: v. 1 dispirit, daunt, dishearten, discourage, defeat; weaken, cripple, enervate, devitalize, depress, subdue, crush: The party''s crushing defeat in the election thoroughly demoralized its supporters. 2 corrupt, pervert, deprave, vitiate, debase, debauch: The committee consider him a demoralizing influence and insist he should resign. 3 bewilder, discomfit, unnerve, shake (up), confuse, fluster, disconcert, unnerve, perturb, disturb, upset, Colloq rattle: The demonstrators were completely demoralized when arrested for loitering.
denial | denial: n. 1 contradiction, negation, repudiation, refutation, disavowal, disclaimer, disaffirmation: Her denials notwithstanding, she was found guilty. 2 retraction, recantation, renunciation, withdrawal: The arbitrary denial of civil rights to some is unconscionable. 3 refusal, rejection, negation; veto: The boy''s persistent denial of authority went into his record.
denizen | denizen: n. inhabitant, dweller, occupant, frequenter, resident; citizen: The depths of the seas harbour some strange denizens. Carl is a denizen of The Bottle and Glass.
denomination | denomination: n. 1 sect, persuasion, school, church, order: He is a member of the Mormon denomination. 2 sort, kind, type, nature, variety, unit, size, value; grade, class, genus, species, order, classification: The kidnappers demanded the ransom money in used notes of small denomination. 3 designation, appellation, name, identification, style, title, tag, term; designating, naming, identifying, styling, classifying, titling, entitling, tagging, terming, denominating: The denomination of people by race, creed, colour, or sex is discriminatory.
denote | denote: v. 1 indicate, specify, designate, distinguish, signify, mark, note: Hypothetical linguistic forms are denoted by an asterisk. 2 mean, name, symbolize, represent, betoken: The word mother denotes ''female parent'', but its connotations are far more extensive.
denounce | denounce: v. 1 accuse, brand, stigmatize, charge, blame, incriminate, implicate, complain about: He has been denounced for the blackguard he is. 2 betray, inform against, report, reveal: He denounced his own son to the authorities. 3 criticize, condemn, decry, denunciate, attack, assail, censure, impugn, declaim or rail (against), vituperate, revile, vilify, inveigh against; ridicule, (hold up to) shame, pillory, (heap) scorn (upon), cast a slur on: The playwright was denounced as a neo-Nazi.
dense | dense: adj. 1 compact, thick, compressed, condensed, close, solid, heavy, impenetrable: The fox escaped into a dense thicket. 2 crowded, packed, tight, impenetrable, impassable: There was a dense crowd blocking the exit. 3 stupid, slow, slow-witted, thickheaded, dull, thick-witted, obtuse, stolid, dim, dim-witted, foolish, Colloq thick, dumb: He may be a gifted artist but he is dense when it comes to money matters.
deny | deny: v. 1 contradict, gainsay, refute, controvert, disaffirm, disclaim, confute, negate, dispute: She denies ever having met the defendant. 2 reject, refuse, withhold, forbid, turn down, decline, disallow; recall, revoke, recant: He asserts that his right to counsel was denied. 3 disavow, repudiate, renounce, disown, forswear, disclaim: The witch-doctor demanded sacrifices, saying that the angry gods would not be denied.
depart | depart: v. 1 go, go away or out or from or off, leave, quit, retire (from), retreat (from), withdraw (from), exit (from), set out or forth or off, decamp, abscond, fly, cut and run, skip (out), run off or away or out, take to the road, take one''s leave, check out, disappear, vanish, evaporate, Jocular toddle off, Imperative Begone!, Colloq beat it, scram, shove off, make oneself scarce, Brit scarper, US hit the road, be out of (someplace), Slang split, Imperative get lost, US cut (on) out, vamoose, take a (run-out) powder, lam (on) out, take it on the lam, Brit do a moonlight flit, Usually imperative bugger off, buzz off , Taboo, imperative fuck off: Our bags are packed and we depart at noon. 2 Often, depart from. deviate (from), change, diverge (from), turn (aside or away) (from), differ (from), vary (from), break away (from), leave, abandon, stray (from), veer (from): She refused to depart from established practices.
department | department: n. 1 division, subdivision, branch, office, bureau, section, segment, unit, part: Some departments are in another building. 2 responsibility, concern, worry, sphere, bailiwick, jurisdiction, domain, control, area or sphere of influence or activity: He was only responsible for the launch of the missiles - where they came down was not his department.
depend | depend: v. 1 depend (on or upon). be contingent or dependent or conditional on, turn on, hinge on, pivot on, hang on, be subject to, rest on, be influenced or determined or conditioned by: The plans for our picnic depend on the weather. 2 depend on or upon. trust (in), rely on, count on, reckon on, bank on, be sure of, put one''s faith or trust in: I knew we could depend on you, Giles, to do the right thing.
deplorable | deplorable: adj. 1 lamentable, regrettable, sad, woeful, grievous, wretched, miserable, unfortunate, awful, distressing, disturbing, troubling, upsetting, grave, serious, oppressive, difficult, desperate, hopeless, tragic, disastrous: Orphaned at six, he had a deplorable childhood. 2 shameful, disgraceful, scandalous, disreputable, awful, bad, appalling, dreadful, abominable, execrable, terrible, reprehensible: What did you think of Annie''s deplorable behaviour at last week''s dance? That''s a deplorable painting.
deposit | deposit: v. 1 place, leave, set or put or lay (down), drop, Colloq US plunk down: You are requested to deposit litter in the bin. 2 entrust, leave, lodge, consign, keep, place, put; store, save, set aside, bank, lay or put away, Brit pay in, Colloq stash away: Each morning she deposits the children at the day nursery and goes to work. He deposits money every week in a pension fund. --n. 3 down payment, part or partial payment, advance payment: A small deposit will hold your purchase until you are ready to pay for it in full. 4 precipitate, sediment, silt, alluvium, dregs, lees, accumulation, deposition: There is a dark deposit at the bottom of the coffee-pot.
depreciate | depreciate: v. 1 devalue, devaluate, decrease, diminish, lessen, reduce, lower, depress, cheapen, mark down: The abundant harvest has depreciated the price of commodities. 2 disparage, diminish, deride, decry, underrate, undervalue, underestimate, minimize, belittle, slight, derogate, deprecate, discredit, denigrate, run down, vilipend, Colloq play down, US talk down: When he depreciates another''s work he adds nothing to the value of his own.
depredation | depredation: n. plunder, plundering, pillage, pillaging, despoliation, despoiling, ravaging, sacking, laying waste, devastation, destruction; ransacking, robbery, looting; ravages: The depredation caused by ten years of war is unimaginable.
depress | depress: v. 1 deject, dispirit, oppress, sadden, grieve, cast down, dishearten, discourage, dampen, cast a gloom or pall over, burden, weigh down: He''s very depressed right now because he failed to get a promotion. 2 weaken, dull, debilitate, enervate, sap; depreciate, cheapen, devalue, devaluate; diminish, lower, bring down, reduce: The news about a new oil field depressed the market today. 3 press (down), push (down) (on), lower: If the pressure gets too high, just depress this lever.
depression | depression: n. 1 indentation, dent, dimple, impression, pit, hollow, recess, cavity, concavity, dip: When the box fell, its corner left a small depression in the top of the metal cabinet. 2 dejection, despair, gloom, downheartedness, sadness, melancholy, discouragement, despondency, gloominess, glumness, the blues, unhappiness; Colloq the dumps: A general feeling of depression came over us at the doctor''s words. 3 recession, slump, (economic) decline, downturn, US and Canadian bust: The analysts are unable to predict accurately either booms or depressions.
deprive | deprive: v. withhold, deny, refuse; withdraw, remove, strip, dispossess, take away, expropriate, divest; mulct: They deprived him of the right to have visitors.
deprived | deprived: adj. needy, in want, in need, impoverished, badly off, destitute, poor, poverty-stricken, Euphemistic underprivileged, disadvantaged: As a deprived family, they are entitled to a number of benefits.
depth | depth: n. 1 deepness, extent, measure, profundity, profoundness: The depth of the cavern was at least three miles. 2 profundity, profoundness, abstruseness, obscurity, reconditeness, complexity, intricacy: There is great depth of meaning in many proverbs. 3 profundity, wisdom, sagacity, sageness, understanding, perception, astuteness, perspicacity, perspicaciousness, insight, intuition, acumen, penetration: One would scarcely characterize Mickey Mouse as possessed of great depth. 4 intensity, profundity, strength; vividness, brilliance, brilliancy, brightness, richness: It is hard for me to express the depth of my feeling for you. The depth of colour is much better in this picture. 5 depths. deep(s), abyss, abysm, chasm, bowels of the earth, (bottomless) pit, nethermost reaches or regions, nadir: As we descended into the depths the temperature increased. She is in the depths of despair and needs your moral support. 6 in depth. thoroughly, comprehensively, in detail, profoundly, deeply, extensively, intensively, concentratedly, probingly: The specialists have looked into the problem in depth and have no answer yet.
deputy | deputy: n. substitute, replacement, surrogate, stand-in, reserve, proxy; agent, operative, representative, go-between, intermediary, spokesperson, spokesman, spokeswoman, delegate, ambassador, minister, emissary, envoy, legate, (papal) nuncio; Chiefly US alternate: She excused herself from the meeting, leaving her deputy in charge.
deranged | deranged: adj. mad, insane, demented, lunatic, unhinged, unbalanced, berserk, crazy, crazed, psychotic, irrational, non compos mentis, out of one''s mind or senses or head, not all there, of unsound mind, crack-brained, mad as a hatter or March hare, off the rails, Colloq touched, dotty, daft, cracked, bats, cuckoo, Brit potty, US have nobody home (upstairs), out to lunch, off-the-wall; Slang bonkers, dippy, barmy or balmy, batty, screwy, loony, nuts, nutty, wacky, bananas, off one''s rocker, off one''s trolley, mental, missing a few marbles, not having all one''s marbles, kooky, with a screw loose, Chiefly Brit off one''s chump, Chiefly US (plumb) loco, meshuga: Police said that the killer was completely deranged and should be approached with caution.
derelict | derelict: adj. 1 deserted, abandoned, forsaken, neglected; ruined, dilapidated, run-down, tumbledown: The council has a scheme for the renovation of derelict buildings in the inner city. 2 negligent, remiss, neglectful, delinquent, dilatory, careless, heedless, lax, slack, irresponsible, slipshod, slovenly, Colloq sloppy: He was accused of having been derelict in his duty. --n. 3 vagrant, tramp, outcast, pariah, loafer, wastrel, good-for-nothing, ne''er-do-well, malingerer, vagabond, slacker, down-and-out, US and Canadian hobo, Colloq US bum: Because of alcohol, he ended up as a derelict.
deride | deride: v. mock, ridicule, scoff (at), jeer (at), laugh (at), make fun or sport (of), tease, taunt, twit, poke fun (at), make a laughing-stock (of), sneer (at), scorn, flout, disdain, pooh-pooh, belittle, diminish, disparage, laugh off, Brit rally, Colloq knock, Brit take the mickey or micky out of: His classmates had always derided his attempts at getting anywhere with the girls.
derision | derision: n. ridicule, mockery, raillery, laughter, sarcasm, scoffing, contempt, scorn, contumely, disrespect; satire, lampoon, pasquinade, burlesque, caricature, travesty: Her suggestion was greeted with derision.
derisory | derisory: adj. mocking, ridiculing, scornful, derisive, disdainful, contemptuous, taunting, insulting, contumelious, jeering; sardonic, sarcastic, ironic(al), satirical: He felt crushed by their derisory laughter.
derivation | derivation: n. origin, descent, extraction, source, beginning, foundation, ancestry, genealogy, etymology, root: The derivations of many words are unknown.
derivative | derivative: adj. 1 derived, borrowed, procured, obtained, acquired; unoriginal, second-hand, copied, imitative, plagiarized, plagiaristic: He created nothing of his own - all his compositions were highly derivative. --n. 2 derivation, offshoot, development, spin-off, by-product: French, Italian, and other Romance languages are derivatives from Latin.
derive | derive: v. 1 draw, extract, get, obtain, acquire, procure, receive, secure, gain, elicit, deduce, educe, infer, gather, collect, harvest, glean, cull, winnow: I derive no pleasure from punishing you. I derived from her remark that she didn''t like the play. 2 derive from. arise from or out of, originate in or with or from, emerge from or out of, come (forth) from or out of, arrive from, issue from, proceed from, develop from, spring from, flow from, emanate from, stem from, be traceable or traced to: The word delicate derives from Latin. All our knowledge is derived from experience.
derogatory | derogatory: adj. depreciatory, depreciating, depreciative, disparaging, abasing, debasing, lowering, denigrating, belittling, diminishing, demeaning, detracting, deflating, minimizing, mitigating; uncomplimentary, offensive, insulting: The family took a somewhat derogatory attitude towards commerce. He said something derogatory about my wife, so I punched him.
descend | descend: v. 1 come or go down, move down, climb down, get down: The sun was setting as he descended from the mountain. 2 decline, incline (downwards), slope, slant, dip, drop, fall, plunge, plummet: Beyond the curve, the road descends suddenly for a mile. 3 stoop, condescend, sink, lower oneself: If you start shouting, you''re just descending to Basil''s level. 4 descend on. attack, assault, invade, pounce on or upon, swoop down on or upon: Fighter planes descended in droves and destroyed the base entirely.
descendant | descendant: n. offspring, progeny, issue, heir, posterity, family; child, son, daughter, grandchild, scion; offshoot: They claim to be descendants of Tsar Nicholas.
describe | describe: v. 1 tell (of), recount, relate, give an account (of), narrate, recite, report, chronicle; retail: He described his adventures in Rio. 2 detail, define, explain, specify, delineate: Please describe exactly where you found the body. 3 characterize, portray, paint, depict, identify, label, style; represent: I would describe her as careless rather than uncaring. 4 trace, mark out, outline, traverse, draw: The trail of the comet described a perfect arc in the black sky.
description | description: n. 1 portrayal, characterization, depiction, (thumbnail) sketch, portrait: Her description of her boss was far from flattering. 2 account, narrative, story, report, representation, statement, definition; explanation, commentary; chronicle, history, record, narration; memoir: I want your detailed description of what led up to the argument. 3 sort, kind, nature, character, type, variety, brand, breed, species, category, genus, ilk, genre, class; stripe, kidney, feather: Carstairs is a rou� of the worst description.
desecrate | desecrate: v. profane, defile, blaspheme (against), dishonour, degrade, debase, befoul, contaminate, pollute, corrupt, violate, pervert, vitiate: Vandals desecrated the temple of Minerva.
desert� | desert�: n. 1 waste, wilderness, wasteland, dust bowl: The nearest oasis was fifty miles away across the desert. --adj. 2 barren, desolate, uninhabited, unpeopled, lonely, deserted; arid, bare, vacant, empty, wild, uncultivated: I was marooned on a desert island. --v. 3 forsake, leave, abandon; jilt, throw over; maroon, strand, leave to twist (slowly) in the wind; Colloq run or walk out on, leave flat or in the lurch, leave high and dry: His courage deserted him when he saw the child''s eyes. He has deserted his wife for some floozie. 4 abscond, quit, run away (from), defect, abandon; Military slang go over the hill: He deserted and will be court-martialled.
desert� | desert�: n. Often, deserts. payment, recompense, requital, compensation, due, right; retribution, justice, Slang comeuppance, what''s coming to one: She''ll get her just deserts one of these days.
deserted | deserted: adj. abandoned, desolate, forsaken, neglected, uninhabited, unpeopled, vacant, vacated, unfrequented, unvisited, unoccupied, empty; stranded, rejected, God-forsaken, isolated, solitary, lonely, friendless: At that hour the streets are completely deserted.
deserter | deserter: n. runaway, fugitive, escapee, absconder, defector, renegade, outlaw; traitor, turncoat, Colloq rat: Deserters are shot when caught.
deserve | deserve: v. merit, earn, be entitled to, be worthy of, rate, warrant, justify: You ought to be nicer to him - he really doesn''t deserve such unkind treatment.
deserved | deserved: adj. merited, earned, just, rightful, suitable, fitting, fit, appropriate, proper, right, fair, equitable, meet, warranted, condign: Carla was never given her deserved credit for catching the thief.
deserving | deserving: adj. meritorious, worthy, merited, commendable, laudable, praiseworthy, creditable, estimable: Perhaps you should leave your money to a deserving charity.
design | design: v. 1 plan, draw up, think of, conceive of, contemplate, devise, lay out, visualize, envisage, envision, sketch (out), pattern, set up: The building was originally designed as the centre-piece for a whole new development. 2 plan, sketch (out), delineate, outline, draft, work or map or block out, lay out, devise, invent, contrive, create, conceive, originate, think up, develop, organize, frame, shape, mould, forge, make, construct, form, fashion: John Smithers has designed a new sales strategy for the company. 3 sketch, draft, lay out, draw; form, devise: Who designed the company''s new logo? 4 intend, mean, plan; purpose, destine; scheme, plot: The building was originally designed to be a school. The book was designed for children. --n. 5 plan, scheme, conception, study, project, proposal, undertaking, enterprise; blueprint, pattern, chart, diagram, layout, map, drawing, draft, sketch, model, prototype: The grand design for rebuilding the city was not approved. 6 form, shape, configuration, pattern, style, motif, format, layout, make-up, delineation, arrangement, organization, composition, structure, construction: I don''t much care for her new design of my monogram. 7 aim, purpose, intention, objective, object, goal, point, target, intent: My design had been to go at once to London. 8 designs. plot, intrigue, stratagem, cabal, conspiracy, conniving, manipulation, connivance, evil intent or intentions: His designs against me have borne bitter fruit.
designate | designate: v. 1 indicate, specify, pinpoint, particularize, delineate, point out, identify, state, set forth, write or put down, name: You should designate your heirs in your will. 2 appoint, nominate, name, identify, denominate, select, pick, choose, elect, assign, appropriate, delegate, depute: She has not yet designated her successor. 3 mean, stand for, symbolize, denote, represent: The Greek letter pi designates the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. 4 call, name, style, term, label, christen, dub, nickname, entitle: Elvis was publicly designated ''The King of Rock ''n'' Roll''.
designer | designer: n. 1 creator, originator, architect, artificer, author, deviser, inventor; (interior) decorator, artist; draughtsman: Raymond Loewy was a designer of locomotives and fountain pens. Lady Mendl was the best-known interior designer of the 1920s. 2 intriguer, schemer, conniver, plotter, conspirator: He is a cunning designer who has wormed his way into favour with the management.
designing | designing: adj. scheming, plotting, conniving, conspiring, intriguing, calculating, wily, tricky, cunning, sly, underhand(ed), crafty, artful, shrewd, Machiavellian, guileful, deceitful, double-dealing, devious, treacherous, Colloq crooked: The prince has fallen prey to designing courtiers.
desirable | desirable: adj. 1 sought-after, wanted, coveted, longed-for, looked-for, desired: Few things are more desirable than security in old age. 2 attractive, pleasant, pleasing, agreeable, winning, winsome, captivating, seductive, alluring, fetching: Their daughter had grown up into a most desirable young lady. 3 good, goodly, excellent, choice, fine, superior, superb, Colloq Brit plummy: The company has produced some very desirable motor cars. 4 profitable, worthwhile, beneficial, advantageous, valuable, worthy, estimable, commendable, admirable: Lady Chelm''s plan possesses many desirable attributes.
desire | desire: v. 1 crave, want, fancy, covet, wish for, hope for, long or yearn for, pine or sigh for, hanker after, have an eye or taste for, hunger or thirst for or after, die for, have one''s heart set on, give one''s eye-teeth for, Colloq have a yen for, Slang US have the hots for: I desire nothing but your happiness. He desired her more than anything else in the world. 2 ask for, request, order, demand, solicit, importune, summon, require: Do you desire anything further, sir? --n. 3 longing, craving, yearning, hankering, hunger, thirst, appetite; passion, lust, libido, lustfulness, concupiscence, lecherousness, lechery, lasciviousness, salaciousness, prurience, Slang hot pants, US the hots; Colloq yen: He felt desire rising in him like a fever. 4 wish, request, urge, requirement, order, requisition, demand, desideratum; appeal, entreaty, petition: He fulfils her every desire.
desirous | desirous: adj. wishful, desiring, longing, yearning, hopeful, hoping: I was desirous to learn more about his whereabouts.
desolate | desolate: adj. 1 solitary, lonely, isolated, deserted, forlorn, forsaken, friendless, alone, abandoned, neglected; desert, uninhabited, empty, unfrequented, bare, barren, bleak, remote: He felt desolate after his wife''s death. Tristan da Cunha is a group of four desolate islands in the Atlantic. 2 laid waste, ruined, devastated, ravaged, destroyed: The explosion left the surrounding countryside desolate. 3 dreary, dismal, wretched, joyless, cheerless, comfortless, miserable, unhappy, down, disconsolate, sad, melancholy, sorrowful, forlorn, mournful, woebegone, gloomy, broken-hearted, heavy-hearted, inconsolable, dejected, downcast, downhearted, dispirited, low-spirited, depressed, melancholy, spiritless, despondent, dismal, distressed, discouraged, hopeless: He has brought some happiness into her desolate existence. --v. 4 depopulate: The country was desolated by famine. 5 destroy, devastate, ruin, lay waste, despoil, ravage, demolish, obliterate, annihilate, raze, gut: Invaders desolated the countryside. 6 dismay, dishearten, depress, daunt, dispirit, sadden, deject, dispirit, discourage: He was either buoyed up by renewed hope or desolated by despair.
desolation | desolation: n. 1 destruction, ruin, devastation, waste, spoliation, despoliation, sack, depredation, extirpation, obliteration, ravagement, barrenness, havoc, chaos: We had to shape a new life from the desolation left by the war. 2 grief, sorrow, dreariness, despair, gloom, distress, melancholy, sadness, misery, woe, anguish, wretchedness, dolour, dolefulness, unhappiness: She felt the desolation of loneliness after her husband''s death.
despair | despair: n. 1 hopelessness, desperation, discouragement, disheartenment, despondency, dejection, depression, gloom, gloominess, misery, melancholy, wretchedness, distress, miserableness, anguish; resignation: The despair of the prisoners was evident in their ravaged faces. --v. 2 give up or lose hope; surrender, quit: We despaired of ever seeing our children again.
desperate | desperate: adj. 1 reckless, foolhardy, rash, impetuous, frantic, frenzied, panic-stricken: Desperate measures are required in such a desperate situation. 2 careless, hasty, devil-may-care, wild, mad, frenetic, furious: They made a last desperate attack on the fort. 3 anxious (for), craving, hungry (for), thirsty (for), needful (of), desirous (of), covetous (of), eager (for), longing or yearning (for), wishing (for), hoping (for), aching (for), pining (for): She is desperate for attention. 4 urgent, pressing, compelling, serious, grave, acute, critical, crucial, great: There is a desperate need for medicines at the disaster site. 5 precarious, perilous, life-threatening, hazardous, dangerous, tenuous, hopeless, beyond hope or help: Avalanches are making the climbers'' situation even more desperate. 6 at one''s wits'' end, forlorn, despairing, despondent, wretched, at the end of one''s tether, frantic: With no one to turn to for help, he was truly desperate.
desperation | desperation: n. 1 recklessness, impetuosity, rashness, foolhardiness, imprudence, heedlessness: Penniless and half-starved, he was driven to desperation and stole a loaf of bread. 2 despair, anxiety, anguish, anxiousness, despondency, depression, dejection, discouragement, defeatism, pessimism, hopelessness, distress, misery, melancholy, wretchedness, gloom, sorrow: In a final act of desperation, he attempted suicide.
despicable | despicable: adj. contemptible, below or beneath or beyond contempt or scorn or disdain, mean, detestable, base, low, scurvy, vile, sordid, wretched, miserable, ignoble, ignominious, shabby; shameful, shameless, reprehensible: He is a thoroughly despicable person and you should have nothing more to do with him.
despise | despise: v. disdain, scorn, look down on or upon, be contemptuous of, sneer at, spurn, contemn; hate, loathe, detest, abhor: She despised her servants and treated them badly. He despised anyone who had not been to university.
despite | despite: prep. in spite of, notwithstanding, undeterred by, regardless of, in the face or teeth of, in defiance of, without considering, without thought or consideration or regard for, ignoring: We went sailing despite the fact that gales had been forecast.
despondent | despondent: adj. dejected, sad, sorrowful, unhappy, melancholy, blue, depressed, down, downcast, downhearted, low, morose, miserable, disheartened, discouraged, dispirited, low-spirited, down in the mouth, Colloq down in the dumps: He''s been despondent since she went away.
despot | despot: n. absolute ruler, dictator, tyrant, oppressor, autocrat: History has painted Ivan the Terrible as one of the cruellest despots of all time.
despotic | despotic: adj. dictatorial, tyrannical, oppressive, authoritarian, imperious, domineering, totalitarian, absolute, autocratic, arbitrary: The country was under the despotic rule of a callous tyrant.
despotism | despotism: n. autocracy, monocracy, autarchy, totalitarianism, absolutism, dictatorship, tyranny, oppression, suppression, repression: She denounced the new laws as another instance of the brutal despotism of the regime.
dessert | dessert: n. sweet, Brit pudding, Colloq Brit pud, afters: For dessert, I had ice-cream and she had a fruit tart.
destination | destination: n. journey''s end, terminus, stop, stopping-place; goal, end, objective, target: Our destination is Bristol.
destine | destine: v. 1 fate, predetermine, predestine, ordain, foreordain, preordain; doom: His only ambition was to be a successful farmer, but the gods destined him for greater things. 2 design, intend, mean, devote, assign, appoint, designate, purpose, mark, earmark, set aside: He beheld the chariot destined to carry him heavenwards.
destined | destined: adj. 1 meant, intended, designed, predetermined, foreordained, predestined, fated; doomed, written; US in the cards: His destined end was to be shot while escaping. Oliver was destined to fail at everything he tried. It was destined that the boy would become king. 2 certain, sure, bound, ineluctable, unavoidable, inevitable, inescapable: Being devoured by monsters is the destined demise of all who dare to enter there.
destiny | destiny: n. fate, doom, fortune, lot, kismet, karma: It is my destiny to be ignored when living and forgotten when dead.
destitute | destitute: adj. 1 in want, impoverished, poverty-stricken, poor, indigent, down and out, needy, on one''s uppers, badly off, penniless, penurious, impecunious, insolvent, bankrupt, Colloq hard up, broke, US on skid row: Why distribute food to destitute families only at Christmas? 2 Usually, destitute of. bereft of, deficient in, deprived of, devoid of, lacking (in), wanting (in), in need, needful (of), without: The landscape was entirely destitute of trees.
destroy | destroy: v. 1 demolish, tear or pull down, raze, wipe out, ravage, wreck, smash, ruin, break up or down, annihilate, crush, eradicate, extirpate, exterminate, devastate, commit mayhem, lay waste, vandalize, Slang US trash: The invading hordes destroyed everything, leaving desolation in their wake. The storm destroyed fifty houses. 2 ruin, do away with, end, make an end of, bring to an end, bring or put an end to, terminate, finish, kill: Realizing what he had done, he destroyed himself. The trial destroyed his career. 3 counteract, neutralize, nullify, annul, cancel (out), reverse; stop, interfere with: Caught embezzling, Martin destroyed everything he had worked for. Sunspot activity destroyed radio transmission this week. 4 disprove, refute, confute, deny, contradict, negate, overturn, overthrow, ruin, spoil, undermine, weaken, enfeeble, devitalize, exhaust, disable, cripple: By pointing out just one flaw, she destroyed his entire argument.
destruction | destruction: n. 1 demolition, razing, wrecking, ruin, ruining, ruination, breaking up or down, mayhem, havoc, annihilation, devastation, tearing or knocking down, laying waste, ravagement; rack and ruin, Colloq wiping out: The destruction of the city took place in 1942. 2 slaughter, annihilation, killing, eradication, murder, extermination, holocaust, liquidation, massacre, extinction, genocide, assassination, slaying, putting to death, putting an end to, making an end of, doing away with, putting away, Colloq doing in, wiping out; Slang US rubbing out, rub-out: They were bent on the destruction of an entire people. 3 undoing, end, ruin, ruination, downfall, termination, breakup, breakdown, collapse: The imprisonment of the bosses spelt the destruction of the entire crime network.
destructive | destructive: adj. 1 harmful, injurious, baneful, pernicious, dangerous, hurtful, toxic, poisonous, virulent, noxious, bad, malignant, baleful, unwholesome, damaging, detrimental, deleterious, devastating; deadly, fatal, lethal, fell, killing, internecine: The spray keeps away insects but is destructive of the plant life. 2 negative, adverse, opposing, opposed, contrary, contradictory, antithetical, conflicting, unfavourable, condemnatory, derogatory, disparaging, disapproving, critical: The playwrights feared and disliked him because of his destructive criticism.
desultory | desultory: adj. shifting, devious, unsteady, irregular, wavering, inconstant, fitful, spasmodic, unmethodical, disconnected, unsystematic, disorderly, disordered, unorganized, disorganized, inconsistent, random, haphazard, chaotic, erratic, shifty: He made no more than a desultory effort to stop smoking. The countries engaged in intermittent, desultory warfare for decades.
detach | detach: v. separate, uncouple, part, disjoin, disengage, disunite, disconnect, disentangle, free, unfasten, undo, cut off, remove: She carefully detached the printer lead from the back of the computer.
detached | detached: adj. 1 disconnected, unattached, separate(d), free, isolated, disentangled, unfastened, removed, cut off, divided, disjoined: He suffered from a detached retina. Their new house is detached. 2 disinterested, aloof, uninvolved, unemotional, dispassionate, d�gag�(e), reserved, impersonal, impartial, neutral, objective, unbiased, unprejudiced: She seemed rather detached and did not get involved in the discussion.
detachment | detachment: n. 1 separating, unfastening, disconnecting, detaching, disengaging; separation, disconnection, disengagement: Most young birds cannot survive a prolonged period of detachment from their parents. 2 aloofness, unconcern, indifference, coolness, inattention, insouciance: He viewed the carnage of the battle with regal detachment. 3 See detail, 3, below.
detail | detail: n. 1 particular, element, factor, point, fact, specific, technicality, component, item, feature; aspect, respect, count: He gave us a general idea of the plan but not a single detail. 2 details. particulars, minutiae, niceties, fine points, specifics, technicalities: Must we go into all the details of his dismissal? 3 detachment, squad, party, cadre, duty, fatigue, group: The sergeant appointed a detail to police the area. 4 in detail. specifically, particularly, thoroughly, in depth, item by item, point by point, exhaustively, comprehensively, inside out, perfectly: We examined the report in detail. --v. 5 specify, spell out, itemize, delineate, catalogue, list, tabulate, enumerate, particularize, recount, cite (chapter and verse): She detailed every little move I was to make. 6 assign, appoint, charge, delegate, name, specify, send: We have been detailed to act as your bodyguard during your visit.
detailed | detailed: adj. 1 itemized, exhaustive, comprehensive, thorough, full, complete, inclusive, particularized, precise, exact, minute, blow-by-blow, circumstantial: He kept a detailed report of everything that happened on D-Day. 2 intricate, complex, complicated, elaborate, ornate: Note the detailed scrollwork on this screen.
detect | detect: v. 1 uncover, find (out), discover, locate, learn of, ascertain, determine, dig up, unearth: The pathologist detected the presence of prussic acid in the victim''s bloodstream. 2 perceive, note, notice, identify, spot, observe, sense, read, scent, smell, discern, feel, catch, find: Did I detect a tone of sarcasm in your reply, young man?
detective | detective: n. investigator, private investigator, CID man, policeman, constable, Colloq private eye, sleuth, Sherlock, snoop, snooper, Brit tec, US P.I., dick, Hawkshaw; Slang cop, copper, US and Canadian gumshoe, peeper: Detectives have at last solved the case of the missing weapon.
detention | detention: n. custody, confinement, imprisonment, captivity, internment, incarceration, restraint, Archaic or literary durance: The culprit was kept in detention for a week.
deter | deter: v. dissuade, discourage, inhibit, intimidate, daunt, frighten off or from or away, scare off or from; prevent, stop, obstruct, check, hinder, impede: I was deterred from entering by three large dogs. Regular spraying of plants helps to deter aphid infestation.
detergent | detergent: n. 1 cleaner, cleanser, soap (powder or flakes or liquid); surfactant, surface-active agent, detersive: You put too much detergent into the washing machine and it overflowed. --adj. 2 cleaning, cleansing, washing, purifying, detersive: The detergent effect is reduced if too much soap is used.
deteriorate | deteriorate: v. 1 worsen, decline, degenerate, degrade, spoil, worsen, get worse, depreciate, slip, slide, Colloq go to pot, go to the dogs, go downhill: We have watched their relationship deteriorate over the years. 2 decay, decline, disintegrate, fall apart, decompose, crumble, erode: The building slowly deteriorated and is now uninhabitable.
determination | determination: n. 1 resoluteness, resolution, firmness, resolve, steadfastness, tenacity, perseverance, fortitude, doggedness, persistence, constancy, single-mindedness, will (power), Colloq grit, guts: The idea is a good one, if only she has the determination to see it through. 2 settlement, resolution, resolving, decision, solution, judgement, verdict, outcome, result, upshot, conclusion, end, termination: None of us could live in peace till the determination of the border dispute. 3 fixing, settling, ascertainment, ascertaining, delimitation, definition: The determination of our position is critical in setting our course.
determine | determine: v. 1 settle, decide, clinch, arbitrate, judge, adjudge, conclude, terminate, end: The ambiguity must be determined one way or the other. 2 ascertain, find out, discover, conclude, infer, draw, learn, detect; verify: From the evidence, they determined the identity of the intruder. 3 decide, choose, select, resolve, make up one''s mind, settle on or upon, fix on or upon: You alone can determine which candidate you want to vote for. 4 affect, influence, act on, shape, condition, govern, regulate, dictate: There were many factors determining my choice.
determined | determined: adj. 1 decided, resolute, resolved, purposeful, dogged, strong-willed, strong-minded, single-minded, tenacious, intent, firm, unflinching, unwavering, fixed, constant, persistent, persevering, steady, unfaltering, unhesitating, unyielding, stubborn, obstinate, adamant: He was determined not to go. We made a determined effort to locate the wreck. 2 fixed, determinate, definite, exact, precise, distinct, predetermined, ascertained, identified: They worked to a previously determined plan. They agreed to pay a percentage of the determined price.
deterrent | deterrent: n. hindrance, impediment, discouragement, disincentive, dissuasion, check, hitch, obstacle, obstruction, stumbling-block; catch, snag, rub, fly in the ointment, bar, drawback: Some experts hold that the death penalty is no deterrent to murder. The only deterrent to your plan is that we are likely to be caught.
detest | detest: v. despise, loathe, hate, abhor, execrate, abominate: They served turnips, which I detest, and sat me next to Ida, whom I also detest.
detour | detour: n. 1 diversion, deviation, circuitous route or way, roundabout way, bypass: The detour took us five miles out of our way. --v. 2 deviate, turn (away) from, divert, bypass: I detoured from the main road and took a short cut.
detract | detract: v. detract from. diminish, reduce, take away from, subtract from, lessen, depreciate, disparage: Once you are in the public eye, your slightest fault detracts from your reputation.
detriment | detriment: n. disadvantage, drawback, liability; damage, harm, ill, impairment, injury, hurt, loss: He has a tendency to support lost causes, to his own detriment. Seeds survive without detriment where their plants would perish.
detrimental | detrimental: adj. disadvantageous, harmful, injurious, hurtful, damaging, deleterious, destructive, prejudicial, adverse, unfavourable, inimical, pernicious: I know nothing detrimental about either one of them.
devastate | devastate: v. 1 lay waste, ravage, destroy, waste, sack, raze, ruin, desolate, spoil, wreck, demolish, level, flatten, gut, obliterate: The island was completely devastated by the tidal wave that followed the typhoon. 2 disconcert, confound, discomfit, take aback, nonplus, shatter, overwhelm, abash, shock; humiliate, mortify, embarrass, chagrin, Colloq floor, US discombobulate: She was devastated by the news of Bertie''s expulsion from college.
devastating | devastating: adj. 1 keen, incisive, mordant, penetrating, trenchant, telling; sardonic, sarcastic, bitter, acid, caustic, savage, satirical, virulent, vitriolic: Because of his bland manner, his devastating wit often caught people by surprise. 2 ravishing, captivating, enthralling, stunning, overpowering, bewitching, spellbinding; spectacular: Kathy was wearing a devastating black silk dress.
develop | develop: v. 1 bring out or forth, advance, expand (on or upon), broaden, enlarge (on or upon), amplify, evolve, expatiate (on or upon), elaborate (on or upon), reveal, lay open, expose, unfold, disclose, bare, (cause to) grow, realize the potential (of); cultivate, improve, promote, exploit, strengthen: The plot is fine, but the characters need to be developed more fully. It is the aim of the school to develop the students'' natural abilities. 2 (make) grow, mature, ripen, age, expand; flower, blossom, bloom, increase: You can''t develop that idea without financial backing. These shrubs will be fully developed next year. 3 exhibit, display, show, demonstrate, manifest: She has recently developed an interest in cooking. 4 emerge, arise, appear, come out, come to light, evolve, originate, begin, commence, happen, occur, come about; come forth, result: A serious fault has developed in the rocket''s fuel line. His natural talent for music developed when he joined the school band.
development | development: n. 1 occurrence, happening, event, incident, circumstance, situation, condition, phenomenon: William Nye will report new developments from the scene. 2 evolution, growth, evolvement, maturation, unfolding, maturing, maturity, increase, expansion, enlargement, increment; advance, advancement, progress; improvement: She has studied the region''s economic development.
deviant | deviant: adj. 1 deviating, divergent, different, abnormal, strange, uncommon, unusual, odd, peculiar, curious, aberrant, eccentric, idiosyncratic, deviate, queer, quirky, weird, bizarre, offbeat, singular, Slang kinky, freaky, Chiefly Brit bent: They have been observing his deviant behaviour for some time. 2 See homosexual, 2, below. --n. 3 See homosexual, 1, below.
deviate | deviate: v. 1 turn aside or away, swerve, veer, wander, stray, drift, digress, diverge; divert: He has chosen a path that deviates from the straight and narrow. --adj., n. 2 See deviant, 1, 3, above.
device | device: n. 1 contrivance, mechanism, machine, machinery, implement, utensil, apparatus, instrument, appliance, tool, gadget, gimmick, Colloq contraption, widget, thingumajig or thingamajig, Brit gubbins: She has patented a device for peeling hard-boiled eggs. 2 stratagem, scheme, trick, artifice, ruse, plot, ploy, gambit, strategy, manoeuvre, machination; machinery, apparatus, mechanism, contrivance, gimmick, tool, weapon: They resorted to a variety of devices in order to achieve their ends. That lawyer used every device he could think of to separate Cornelia from her inheritance. 3 design, emblem, figure, (heraldic) bearing, insigne, cadency mark, mark of cadency, hallmark, trade mark, symbol, badge, coat of arms, seal, crest, colophon, logotype, logo, monogram, charge, cognizance, signet; motto, slogan, legend: The device - a closed eye - is that of Lord Boring. 4 devices. pleasure, disposition, will, inclination, fancy, desire, whim: Left to his own devices, he''ll survive very well indeed.
devil | devil: n. 1 Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Abaddon, Apollyon, Belial, Lord of the Flies, prince of darkness, spirit of evil, evil spirit, cacodemon or cacodaemon, evil one, wicked one, archfiend, Fiend, deuce, Scots Clootie; Colloq Old Harry, (Old) Nick, US (Old) Scratch: In medieval times the devil was given horns, a tail, and cloven hooves. 2 brute, fiend, demon, beast, ogre, monster, rogue, scoundrel, rake, knave, rakehell, villain, ghoul, hell-hound, vampire, barbarian; witch, hell-cat, shrew, termagant, vixen, virago, ogress, harpy, hag, Xanthippe or Xantippe, crone: If you hit me again I''ll phone the police, you devil! 3 fellow, person, chap, wretch, bloke, guy, beggar, unfortunate, Colloq bugger, Brit sod: The poor devil lost an arm at Gallipoli. 4 imp, scamp, rascal, fox, slyboots, sly dog, rapscallion, confidence man, trickster, Colloq operator, smoothie, smooth or slick operator, con man, con artist: The little devil has stolen our hearts. The devil wormed his way into our confidence and then made off with our money. 5 like the devil. exceedingly, extremely, excessively, violently, speedily, confoundedly, deucedly: The car was going like the devil when it hit the tree. She fought like the devil to protect the house. 6 - the devil. in heaven''s name, the dickens, in the world, on God''s green earth, in hell: What the devil do you think you are doing? Who the devil is she? Where the devil have you put my trousers?
devilish | devilish: adj. diabolic(al), satanic, Mephistophelian, fiendish, demonic, cacodemonic, demoniac(al), infernal, hellish, villainous, sinister, wicked, evil, iniquitous, sinful, flagitious, heinous, malign, malevolent, malignant, cruel, maleficent; impish, mischievous, prankish, naughty, crazy, madcap: He has come up with a devilish plan for stealing the secret formula.
devilry | devilry: n. 1 deviltry, mischief, mischievousness, roguery, naughtiness, rascality, roguishness, diablerie, archness, knavery, knavishness: His latest bit of devilry is hiding father''s bedroom slippers. 2 deviltry, devilishness, wickedness, evil, fiendishness, diablerie, cruelty, malice, malevolence, viciousness, perversity, iniquity, hellishness, villainy: That traitor is up to some devilry.
devious | devious: adj. 1 deceitful, underhand(ed), insincere, deceptive, misleading, subreptitious, sneaky, furtive, surreptitious, secretive, double-dealing, treacherous, dishonest, shifty, smooth, slick, slippery, scheming, plotting, designing, foxy, vulpine, wily, sly, crafty, tricky Colloq crooked: The plot to poison the queen was the product of a devious mind. 2 indirect, roundabout, zigzag, evasive, circuitous, crooked, rambling, serpentine, tortuous, sinuous, anfractuous: That is about the most devious bit of reasoning I have ever heard!
devise | devise: v. 1 concoct, make up, conceive, scheme, contrive, dream up, design, draft, frame, form, formulate, plan, arrange, work out, think up, originate, invent, create, Colloq cook up: He devised a method for making sandals out of leather scraps. 2 bequeath, will, convey, hand down, give, assign, dispose of, transfer, bestow: I devise to my nephew, Ian Ferguson, my property in Yorkshire.
devote | devote: v. 1 apply, appropriate, assign, allot, commit, allocate, set aside or apart, put away or aside, dedicate, consecrate: Each of the chapels was devoted to a separate sect. 2 apply, pledge, dedicate, commit, give up: She has devoted her life to helping others.
devoted | devoted: adj. faithful, true, dedicated, committed, devout, loyal, loving, doting, staunch, tender, staunch, steadfast, constant; ardent, loving, caring, fond, earnest, zealous, enthusiastic: Your brother was my most devoted friend throughout his life.
devotee | devotee: n. fan, aficionado, adherent, votary, enthusiast, addict, Colloq buff, fiend, US hound; Slang bug, nut, freak, US head, junkie, groupie: The band was followed about on tour by scores of screaming devotees of rock music.
devotion | devotion: n. 1 devotedness, devoutness, reverence; earnestness, religiousness, piety, religiosity, pietism, godliness, holiness, spirituality, sanctity; worship, prayer, observance, ritual: The sect was noted for its devotion to martyrs and their relics. It is gratifying to see such devotion amongst the younger members of the congregation. They interrupted the holy man at his devotions. 2 dedication, consecration, attachment, loyalty, devotedness: His devotion to duty will be remembered by his fellow soldiers. 3 zeal, ardour, fervour, ardency, intensity, fanaticism, eagerness, enthusiasm, earnestness, readiness, willingness; love, passion, infatuation, fondness, affection, attachment, adherence, loyalty, allegiance: They would dedicate themselves with slavish devotion to some brutal master.
devour | devour: v. 1 wolf (down), gulp (down), bolt, swallow (up), gorge, gobble (up), gormandize, cram, stuff, eat (up) greedily, Archaic gluttonize; Colloq Brit pig, US and Canadian pig out (on): He was so hungry when he came in that he devoured two whole pies and a plate of chips. 2 consume, waste, destroy, wipe out, ravage, annihilate, demolish, ruin, wreak havoc (up)on, devastate, obliterate, eradicate: A quarter of Europe was already devoured by the plague. 3 relish, revel in, absorb, be absorbed by; engulf, consume, drink in, eat up, swallow up, take in; swamp, overcome, overwhelm: He eagerly devoured all of Dickens''s novels. The sea devoured its victims silently.
devout | devout: adj. 1 devoted, pious, religious, reverent, worshipful, faithful, dedicated, staunch, churchgoing; holy, godly, saintly, pure: When I last saw him, he had become a devout Christian. 2 devotional, reverential, religious, solemn: Through devout prayer one might see the kingdom of heaven. 3 earnest, sincere, genuine, hearty, heartfelt, devoted, ardent, zealous: You have my devout best wishes for your happiness.
dexterity | dexterity: n. 1 touch, nimbleness, adroitness, deftness, facility, knack, skill, proficiency; sleight of hand: Much fine rug-weaving is done by little children because of the dexterity of their small fingers. 2 cleverness, ingenuity, ingeniousness, tact, astuteness, keenness, sharpness, shrewdness, cunning, guile, canniness, artfulness: I admire his dexterity in arguing the case in court. He exercised great dexterity in eluding capture.
dexterous | dexterous: adj. 1 dextrous, deft, lithe, nimble, supple, agile, quick, skilful: He was a dexterous archer. 2 clever, ingenious, astute, keen, sharp, shrewd, cunning, guileful, canny, artful, crafty, slick: She was devout in religion, decorous in conduct, and dexterous in business. He was the most dexterous of our political leaders.
