| dishearten | discourage |
| disheveled | untidy ; V. dishevel |
| disinclination | unwillingness |
| disingenuous | not naive; not candid; sophisticated; worldly wise; OP. ingenuous |
| disinter | dig up; unearth; OP. inter |
| disinterested | unprejudiced; free from bias and self-interest; objective |
| disjointed | disconnected; lacking coherence; V. disjoint: disconnect; disjoin |
| disjunction | act or state of separation; disunity; CF. disjunctive: expressing a choice between two ideas; CF. conjunction; CF. conjunctive |
| dislodge | remove ; force out of a position; Ex. dislodge the food caught in his throat; CF. lodge |
| dismantle | take apart; disassemble |
| dismember | cut into small parts; cut apart limb from limb |
| dismiss | eliminate from consideration; no longer consider; put out of court without further hearing; reject; discharge from employment; direct to leave; ADJ. dismissive; N. dismissal |
| disparage | belittle |
| disparate | basically different; impossible to compare; unrelated |
| disparity | difference; condition of inequality; OP. parity |
| dispassionate | calm; impartial; not influenced by personal feelings |
| dispatch | speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed; V: send to a specified destination; finish promptly; kill |
| dispel | scatter; drive away; cause to vanish |
| disperse | scatter; Ex. disperse the cloud/crowd |
| dispirited | lacking in spirit |
| disport | amuse; Ex. disport oneself; CF. divert |
| disputatious | argumentative; fond of argument |
| disquietude | uneasiness; anxiety; V. disquiet: make anxious |
| disquisition | formal systematic inquiry; explanation of the results of a formal inquiry; long formal speech or written report |
| dissection | analysis; cutting apart in order to examine |
| dissemble | disguise; hide the real nature of; pretend |
| disseminate | distribute; spread; scatter |
| dissent | disagree |
| dissertation | formal essay; treatise |
| dissident | dissenting ; rebellious; N. |
| dissimulate | pretend; conceal by feigning; dissemble |
| dissipate | squander; waste foolishly; scatter |
| dissolution | disintegration; reduction to a liquid form; looseness in morals; sensual indulgence; debauchery; ADJ. dissolute: lacking in moral restraint; leading an immoral life |
| dissuade | persuade not to do; discourage; N. dissuasion |
| distant | reserved or aloof; cold in manner; Ex. distant greeting; ADV. distantly |
| distend | expand; swell out |
| distill | refine ; concentrate; separate the most important parts from; Ex. distill fresh water from sea water; CF. brew |
| distinction | honor; excellence; difference; contrast; discrimination; Ex. graduated with distinction; Ex. a writer of real distinction |
| distort | twist out of shape; give a false account of; misrepresent; N. distortion |
| distrait | absentminded; distracted |
| distraught | upset; distracted by anxiety; very anxious and troubled almost to the point of madness; Ex. distraught with grief/worry |
| diurnal | daily; occurring during the daytime |
| diva | operatic singer; prima donna |
| diverge | vary; go in different directions from the same point; ADJ. divergent: differing; deviating |
| diverse | differing in some characteristics ; various; N. diversity: |
| diversion | act of turning aside; pastime; V. divert: turn aside from a course; distract; amuse |
| divest | strip ; deprive ; dispossess; N. divestiture |
| divine | perceive intuitively ; foresee the future; foretell; dowse; ADJ. N. divination |
| divulge | reveal |
| docile | obedient; easily managed; submissive |
| docket | program as for trial; book where such entries are made; list of things to be done; agenda; label fixed to a package listing contents or directions; V: describe in a docket |
| doctrinaire | unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding; marked by inflexible attachment to a doctrine without regard to its practical difficulties |
| doctrine | teachings in general; particular principle taught; dogma; tenet; ADJ. doctrinal |
| document | provide written evidence ; record with documents; N. |
| doddering | shaky; infirm from old age; V. dodder |
| doff | take off; OP. don |
| dogged | determined; stubborn; stubbornly persevering; tenacious; Ex. Inspector Javert"s dogged pursuit of Jean Valjean |
| doggerel | poor verse |
| dogmatic | opinionated; holding stubbornly to one's opinion; arbitrary; doctrinal |
| doldrums | blues; listlessness; slack period; period of stagnation; ocean area near the equator where ships cannot move because there is no wind; Ex. in the doldrums |
| dolorous | sorrowful; N. dolor |
| dolt | slow-thinking stupid person; CF. dull |
| domicile | home; V. ADJ. domiciled: having one's domicile; Ex. He is domiciled in Britain. |
| domineer | rule over tyrannically |
| don | put on; OP. doff |
| dormant | sleeping; temporarily inactive; lethargic; latent |
| dormer | window projecting upright from roof; CF. sleeping room |
| dorsal | relating to the back of an animal; Ex. dorsal fin |
| dossier | file of documents on a subject or person; file; CF. bundle of papers labeled on the back |
| dotage | senility; feeblemindedness of old age; Ex. In one's dotage |
| dote | be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline |
| dour | sullen; gloomy; stubborn |
| douse | plunge into water or liquid; dip; immerse; drench; wet thoroughly; extinguish; throw water over; dowse |
| dowdy | untidy ; slovenly; dressed in an unattractive way; shabby; CF. unattractive woman |
| downcast | disheartened; dejected; sad; directed downward |
| drab | dull; lacking color; cheerless ; Ex. drab coat/life |
| draconian | extremely severe; Ex. draconian punishment; CF. Draco: Athenian politician |
| dregs | sediment in a liquid; lees; worthless residue |
| drivel | nonsense; foolishness; V: talk nonsense |
| droll | queer and amusing |
| drone | talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee; N. |
| drone | idle person who lives on other people"s work; male bee |
| dross | waste matter; worthless impurities |
| drudgery | hard unpleasant work; menial work |
| dubious | questionable; causing doubt; filled with doubt; N. dubiety |
| ductile | malleable; pliable; easily pulled into shape; flexible; easily influenced or controlled |
| dulcet | sweet sounding; pleasing to the ear; melodious |
| dumbfound | astonish ; ADJ. dumbfounded, dumfounded, dumbstruck |
| dupe | someone easily fooled or deceived; V: deceive |
| duplicity | double-dealing; hypocrisy; being dishonest and deceitful; ADJ. duplicitous |
| duration | length of time something lasts |
| duress | forcible restraint, especially unlawfully; coercion by threat; illegal coercion; Ex. a promise made under duress |
| dutiful | respectful; obedient |
| dwindle | shrink; reduce gradually |
| dynamic | energetic; vigorously active |
| dyspeptic | suffering from indigestion; N. dyspepsia: indigestion; difficulty in digesting food |