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GRE Barrons Words D
A complete list of Barron's GRE Wordlist, with meanings and sentences.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| dais | raised platform for guests of honor When he approached the dais, he was greeted by cheers from the people who had come to honor him. |
| dally | trifle with; procrastinate Laertes told Ophelia that Hamlet could only dally with her affections. |
| dank | damp The walls of the dungeon were dank and slimy. |
| dapper | neat and trim In "The Odd Couple," Tony Randall played Felix Unger, an excessively dapper soul who could not stand to have a hair out of place. |
| dappled | spotted The sunlight filtering though the screens created a dappled effect on the wall. |
| daub | smear (as with paint) From the way he daubed his paint on the canvas, I could tell he knew nothing of oils. |
| daunt | intimidate Your threats cannot daunt me. |
| dauntless | bold Despite the dangerous nature of the undertaking, the dauntless soldier volunteered for the assignment. |
| dawdle | loiter; waste time Inasmuch as we must meet a deadline, do not dawdle over this work. |
| deadlock | standstill; stalemate The negotiations had reached a deadlock. |
| deadpan | wooden; impassive We wanted to see how long he could maintain his deadpan expression. |
| dearth | scarcity The dearth of skilled labor compelled the employers to open trade schools. |
| debacle | breaking up; downfall This debacle in the government can only result in anarchy. |
| debase | reduce to lower state Do not debase youself by becoming maudlin. |
| debauch | corrupt; make intemperate A vicious newspaper can debauch public ideals. |
| debilitate | weaken; enfeeble Overindulgence debilitates character as well as physical stamina. |
| debonair | friendly; aiming to please The debonair youth was liked by all who met him, because of his cheerful and obliging manner. |
| debris | rubble A full year after the earthquake in Mexico City, workers were still carting away the debris. |
| debunk | expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc.; ridicule Pointing out that he conhsistently had voted afainst strenghtening antipollution legislation, reporters debunked the candidate's claim that he was a fervent environmentalist. |
| debutante | yound woman making formal entrance into society As a debutante, she was often mentioned in the society columns of the newspapers. |
| decadence | decay The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the lewd literature of the period. |
| decant | pour off gently Be sure to decant this wine before serving it. |
| decapitate | behead They did not hang Lady Jane Grey; they decapitated her. |
| decelerate | slow down Seeing the emergency blinkers in the road ahead, he decelerated quickly. |
| deciduous | falling off, as of leaves The oak is a deciduous tree. |
| decimate | kill, usually one out of ten We do more to decimate our population in automobile accidents than we do in war. |
| decipher | decode I could not decipher the doctor's handwriting. |
| declivity | downward slope The children loved to ski down the declivity. |
| decollete | having a low-cut neckline Fashion decrees that evening gowns be decollete this season; bare shoulders are again the vogue. |
| decomposition | decay Despite the body's advanced state of decomposition, the police were able to identify the murdered man. |
| decorum | propriety; seemliness Shocked by the unruly behavior, the teacher criticized the class for its lack of decorum. |
| decoy | lure or bait The wild ducks were not fooled by the decoy. |
| decrepitude | state of collagse caused by illness or old age I was unprepared for the state of decrepitude in which I had found my old friend; he seemed to have aged twenty years in six months. |
| decry | express strong disapproval of ; disparage The founder of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, strongly decries the lack of financial and moral support for children in America today. |
| deducible | derived byreasoning If we accept your premise, your conclusions are easily deducible. |
| deface | mar; disfigure If you deface a library book, you will have to pay a hefty fine. |
| defamation | harming a person's reputation Such defamation of character may result in a slander suit. |
| default | failure to do As a result of her husband's failure to appear in court, she was granted a divorce by default. |
| defeatist | resigned to defeat; accepting defeat as a natural outcome If you maintain your defeatist attitude, you will never succeed. |
| defection | desertion The children, who had made him an idol, were hurt most by his defection from our cause. |
| deference | courteous regard for another's wish In deference to his desires, the employers granted him a holiday. |
| defile | pollute; profane The hoodlums defiled the church with their scurrilous writing. |
| definitive | most reliable or complee Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln may be regarded as the definitive work on the life of the Great Emancipator. |
| deflect | turn aside His life was saved when his cigarette case deflected the bullet. |
| defoliate | destroy leaves In Vietnam the army made extensive use of chemical agents to defoliate the woodlands. |
| defray | provide ofr the payment of Her employer offered to defray the costs of her postgraduate education. |
| defrock | to strip a priest or minister of church authority We knew the minister had violated church regulations, but we had not realized his offense was serious enough to cause him to be defrocked. |
| deft | neat; skillful The deft waiter uncorked the champagne without spilling a drop. |
| defunct | dead; no longer in use or existence The lawyers sought to examine the books of the defunct corporation. |
| degenerate | become worse; deteriorate As the fight dragged on, the champion's style degenerated until he could barely keep on his feet. |
| degraded | lowered in rank; debased The degraded wretch spoke only of his past glories and honors. |
| dehydrate | remove water from; dry out Vigorous dancing quickly dehydrates the body; between dances, be sure to drink more water than normal. |
| deify | turn into a god; idolize Admire the rock star all you want; just don't deify him. |
| deign | condescend He felt that he would debase himself if he deigned to answer his critics. |
| delete | erase; strike out If you delete this paragraph, the composition will have more appeal. |
| deleterious | harmful Workers in nuclear research must avoid the deleterious effects of radioactive substances. |
| deliberate | consider; ponder; unhurried Offered the new job, she asked for time to deliberate before she made her decision. |
| delineate | portray He is weakest when he attempts to delineate character. |
| delirium | mental disorder marked by confusion The drunkard in his delirium saw strange animals. |
| delta | flat plain of mud or sand between branches of a river His dissertation discussed the effect of intermittent flooding on the fertility of the Nile delta. |
| delude | deceive Do not delude yourself into believing that he will relent. |
| deluge | flood; rush When we advertised the position, we received a deluge of applications. |
| delusion | false belief; hallucination This scheme is a snare and a delusion. |
| delusive | deceptive; raising vain hopes Do not raise your hopes on the basis of his delusive promises. |
| delve | dig; investigate delving into old books and manuscripts is part of a researcher's job. |
| demagogue | person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader He was accused of being a demogogue because he made promises that aroused futile hopes in his listeners. |
| demean | degrade; humiliate He felt that he would demean himself if he replied to the scurrilous letter. |
| demeanor | behavior; bearing His sober demeanor quieted the noisy revelers. |
| demented | insane She became increasingly demented and had to be hospitalized. |
| demise | death Upon the demise of the dictator, a bitter dispute about succession to power developed. |
| demographic | related to population balance In conducting a survey, one should take into account demographic trends in the region. |
| demolition | destruction One of the major aims of the air force was the complete demolition of all means of transportation by the bombing of rail lines and the terminals. |
| demoniac | fiendish The Spanish Inquisition devised many demoniac means of torture. |
| demotic | pertaining to the people He lamented the passing of aristocratic society and maintained that a demotic society would lower the nation's standards. |
| demur | delay; object To demur at this time will only worsen the already serious situation; now is the time for action. |
| demure | grave; serius; coy She was demure and reserved. |
| denigrate | blacken All attempts to denigrate the character of our late President have failed; the people still love him and cherish his memory. |
| denizen | inhabitant of Ghosts are denizens of the land of the dead who return to earth. |
| denotation | meaning; distinguishing by name A dictionary will always give us the denotation of a word; frequently, it will always give us its connotation. |
| denouement | outcome; final development of the plot of a play or other literary work The play was childishly written; the denouement was obvious to sophisticated theatergoers as early as the middle of the first act. |
| denounce | condemn; critcize The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust. |
| depict | portray In this book, the author depicts the slave owners as kind and benevolent masters. |
| deplete | reduce; exhaust We must wait until we deplete our present inventory before we order replacements. |
| deplore | regret Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely. |
| deploy | move troops so that the battle line is extended at the expense of depth The general ordered the battalion to deploy in order to meet the offensive of the enemy. |
| depose | dethrone; remove form office The army attempted to depose the king and set up a military government. |
| deposition | testimony under oath He made his deposition in the judge's chamber. |
| depravity | corruption; wickedness The depravity of the tyrant's behavior shocked us all. |
| deprecate | express disapproval of; protest against; belittle A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names. |
| depreciate | lessen in value If you neglect this properly, it will depreciate. |
| depredation | plundering After the depredations of the invaders, the people were penniless. |
| deranged | insane He had to be institutionalized because he was deranged. |
| derelict | neglectful of duty; abandoned The corporal who fell asleep while on watch was thrown into the guardhouse for being derelic in his duty. |
| deride | scoff at The people derided his grandiose schemes. |
| derision | ridicule They greeted his proposal with derision and refused to consider it seriously. |
| derivative | unoriginal; obtained from another source Although her early poetry was clearly derivative in nature, the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice. |
| dermatologist | one who studies the skin and its diseases I advise you to consult a dermatologist about your acne. |
| derogatory | expressing a low opinion I resent your derogatory remarks. |
| descry | catch sight of In the distance, we could barely descry the enemy vessels. |
| desecrate | profane; violate the sanctity of The soldiers desecrated the temple. |
| desiccate | dry up A tour of this smokehouse will give you an idea of how the pioneers used to desiccate food in order to preserve it. |
| desolate | rob of joy; lay waste to; forsake The bandits desolated the countryside, burning farms and carrying off the harvest. |
| desperado | reckless outlaw Butch Cassidy was a bold desperado with a price on his head. |
| despicable | contemptible Your despicable remarks call for no reply. |
| despise | scorn I despise your attempts at a reconciliation at this time and refuse to meet you. |
| despoil | plunder If you do not yield, I am afraid the enemy will despoil the countryside. |
| despondent | depressed; gloomy To the dismay of his parents, he became more and more depondent every day. |
| despotism | tyranny The people rebelled against the despotism of the king. |
| destitute | extremely poor The costs of the father's illness left the family destitute. |
| desultory | aimless; haphazard; digressing at random In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him reading was purposeful, not desultory. |
| detached | emotionally removed; calm and objective; indifferent A psychoanalyst must maintain a detached point of view and stay uninvolved with her patients' perssonal lives. |
| determinate | having a fixed order of procedure; invariable At the royal wedding, the procession of the nobles followed a determinate order of precedence. |
| deterrent | something that discourages; hindrance Does the threat of capital punishment serve as a deterrent to potential killers? |
| detonation | explosion The detonation of the bomb could be heard miles away. |
| detraction | slandering; aspersion He is offended by your frequent detractions of his ability as a leader. |
| detrimental | harmful; damaging Your acceptance of her support will ultimately prove detrimental rather than helpful to your cause. |
| deviate | turn away from Do not deviate from the truth; you must face the facts. |
| devious | going astray; erratic Your devious behavior in this matter puzzles me since you are usually direct and straightforward. |
| devoid | lacking He was devoid of any personal desire for gain in his endeavor to secure improvement in the community. |
| devolve | deputize; pass to others It devolved upon us, the survivors, to arrange peace terms with the enemy. |
| devotee | enthusiastic follower A devotee of the opera, he bought season tickets every year. |
| devout | pious The devout man prayed daily. |
| dexterous | skillful The magician was so dexterous that we could not follow his movements as he performed his tricks. |
| diabolical | devilish This scheme is so diabolical that I must reject it. |
| diadem | crown The king's diadem was on display at the museum. |
| dialectic | art of debate I am not skilled in dialectic and therefore, cannot answer your arguments as forcefully as I wish. |
| diaphanous | sheer; transparent They saw the burglar clearly through the diaphanous curtain. |
| diatribe | bitter scolding; invective During the lengthy diatribe delivered by his opponent he remained calm and self-controlled. |
| dichotomy | branching into two parts The dichotomy of our legislative system provides us with many safeguards. |
| dictum | arthoritative and weighty statement She repeated the statement as though it were the dictum of the most expert worker in the group. |
| didactic | teaching; instructional; preaching or moralizing The didactic qualities of his poetry overshadow its literary qualities; the lesson he teaches is more memorable than the lines. |
| die | device for stamping or impressing; mold In coining pennies, workers at the old mint squeezed sheets of softened copper between two dies. |
| diffidence | shyness You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson. |
| diffusion | wordiness; spreading in all directions like a gas Your composition suffers from a diffusion of ideas; try to be more compact. |
| digression | wandering away from the subject Nobody minded when Professor Renoir's lectures wandered away from their offical theme; his digressions were always more fascinating than the topic of the day. |
| dilapidated | ruined because of neglect We felt that the dilapidated building needed several coats of paint. |
| dilate | expand In the dark, the pupils of your eyes dilate. |
| dilatory | delaying Your dilatory tactics may compel me to cancel the contract. |
| dilemma | problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives In this dilemma, he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice. |
| dilettante | aimless follower of the arts; amateur; dabbler He was not serious in his painting; he was rather a dilettante. |
| diligence | steadiness of effort; persisten hard work Her employers were greatly impressed by her diligence and offered her a partnership in the firm. |
| dilute | make less concentrated; reduce in strength She preferred her coffee diluted with milk. |
| diminution | lessening; reduction in size The blockaders hoped to achieve victory as soon as the diminution of the enemy's supplies became serious. |
| din | continued loud noise The din of the jackhammers outside the classroom window drowned out the lecturer's voice. |
| dinghy | small boat (often ship's boat) In the film Lifeboat, an ill-assorted group of passengers from a sunken ocean liner are marooned at sea in a dinghy. |
| dingy | dull; not fresh; cheerless Refusing to be depressed by her dingy studio apartment, Bea spent the weekend polishing the floors and windows and hanging bright posters on the walls. |
| dint | means; effort By dint of much hard work, the volunteers were able to control the raging forest fire. |
| diorama | like-size, three-dimensional scene from nature or history Because they dramatically pose actual stuffed animals against realistic painted landscapes, the dioramas at the Museum of Natural History particularly impress high school biology students. |
| dire | disastrous People ignored her dire predictions of an approaching depression. |
| dirge | lament with music The funeral dirge stirred us to tears. |
| disabuse | correct a false impression; undeceive I will attempt to diabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt; I know he is innocent. |
| disaffected | disloyal Once the most loyal of Gorbachev's supporters, Shverdnaze found himself becoming increasingly disaffected. |
| disapprobation | disapproval; condemnation The conservative father viewed his daughter's radical boyfriend with disapprobation. |
| disarray | a disorderly or untidy state After the New Year's party, the once orderly house was in total disarray. |
| disavowal | denial; disclaiming His disavowal of his part in the conspiracy was not believed by the jury. |
| disband | dissolve; disperse The chess club disbanded after its disastrous initial season. |
| disburse | pay out When you disburse money on the company's behalf, be sure to get a receipt. |
| discernible | distinguishable; perceivable The ships in the harbor were not discernible in the fog. |
| discerning | mentally quick and observant; having insight Because he was considered the most discerning member of the firm, he was assigned the most difficult cases. |
| disclaim | disown; renounce claim to If I grant you this previlege, will you disclaim all other rights? |
| disclose | reveal Although competitors offered him bribes, he refused to disclose any information about his company's forthcoming product. |
| discombobulated | confused; discomposed The novice square dancer became so discombobulated that he wandered into wrong set. |
| discomfit | put to rout; defeat; disconcert This ruse will discomfit the enemy. |
| disconcert | confuse; upset; embarrass The lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary. |
| disconcolate | sad The death of his wife left him disconsolate. |
| discordant | inharmonious; conflicting She tried to unite the discordant factions. |
| discount | disregard Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife. |
| discourse | formal disscussion; conversation The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers. |
| discredit | defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve The campaign was highly negative in tone; each candidate tried to discredit the other. |
| discrepancy | lack of consistency; difference The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him. |
| discrete | separate; unconnected The universe is composed of discrete bodies. |
| discretion | prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone. |
| discrimination | ability to see differences; prejudice They feared he lacked sufficient discrimination to judge complex works of modern art. |
| discursive | digressing; rambling They were annoyed and bored by her discursive remarks. |
| disdain | treat with scorn or contempt You make enemies of all you disdain. |
| disembark | go ashore; unload cargo from a ship Before the passengers could disembark, they had to pick up their passports from the ship's purser. |
| disenfranchise | deprive of a civil right The imposition if the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern blacks, who lost their right to vote. |
| disengage | uncouple; separate; disconnect A standard movie routine involves the hero's desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving train. |
| disfigure | mar the appearance of; spoil An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face. |
| disgorge | surrender something; efect; vomit Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away. |
| disgruntle | make discontented The passengers were disgruntled by the numerous delays. |
| dishearten | discourage His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him. |
| disheveled | untidy Your disheveled appearance will hurt your chances in this interview. |
| disinclination | unwilingness Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed. |
| disingenuous | not naive; sophisticated Although he was young, his remarks indicated that he was disingenous. |
| disinter | dig up; unearth They disinterred the body and held an autopsy. |
| disinterested | unprejudiced The only disinterested person in the room was the judge. |
| disjointed | disconnected His remarks were so disjointed that we could not follow his reasoning. |
| dislodge | remove (forcible) Thrusting her fist up under the choking man's lower ribs, Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the food caught in this throat. |
| dismantle | take apart When the show closed, they dismantled the scenery before restoring it. |
| dismember | cut into small parts When the Austrian Empire was dismembered, several new countries were established. |
| dismiss | eliminate from consideration; reject Believing in John's love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful. |
| disparage | belittle Do not disparage anyone's contribution; these little gifts add up to large sums. |
| disparate | basically different; unrelated It is difficult, if not impossible, to organize these disparate elements into a coherent whole. |
| disparity | difference; condition of inequality The disparity in their ages made no difference at all. |
| dispassionate | calm; impartial In a dispassionate analysis of the problem, he carefully examined the causes of the conflict and proceeded to suggest suitable remedies. |
| dispatch | speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters, informing his commander of the great victory. |
| dispel | scatter; drive away; cause to vanish The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist. |
| disperse | scatter The police fired tear gas into crowd to disperse the protesters. |
| dispirited | lacking in spirit The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which I had become dispirited at the loss of the star player. |
| disport | amuse The popularity of Florida as a winter resort is constantly increasing; each year, thousands more disport themselves at Miami and Palm Beach. |
| disputatious | argumentative; fond of argument People avoided discussing contemporary problems with him because of his disputatious manner. |
| disquisition | a formal systematic inquiry; an explanation of the results of a formal inquiry In his disquisition, he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions. |
| dissection | analysis; cutting apart in order to examine The dissection of frogs on the laboratory is particularly unpleasant to some students. |
| dissemble | disguise; pretend Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew there not to dance but to meet girls. |
| disseminate | scatter (like seeds) The invention of the radio helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily. |
| dissent | disagree In a landmark Supreme Court decision, Justice Marshall dissented from the majority opinion. |
| dissertation | formal essay In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to prepare a dissertation on some scholarly subject. |
| dissident | dissenting; rebellious In the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square, the government hunted down the dissident students and their supporters. |
| dissimulate | pretend; conceal by feigning She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude. |
| dissipate | squander The young man quickly dissipated his inheritance and was soon broke. |
| dissolution | disintegration; looseness in morals The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's Rome appall some historians. |
| dissonance | discord Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects. |
| dissuade | advise against He could not dissuade his friend from joining the conspirators. |
| distant | reserved or aloof; cold in manner His distant greeting made me feel unwelcome from the start. |
| distend | expand;swell out I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead. |
| distill | purify; refine; concentrate A moonshiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist distills thoughts into quips. |
| distortion | twisting out of shape It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations of the reporters. |
| distrait | absentminded Because of his concentration on the problem, the professor often appeared distrait and unconcerned about routine. |
| distraught | upset; distracted by anxiety The distraught parents frantically searched the ravine for their lost child. |
| diurnal | daily A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly. |
| diva | operatic singer; prima donna Although world famous as a diva, she did not indulge in fits of temerament. |
| diverge | vary; go in different directionsfrom the same point The spokes of the wheel diverge from the hub. |
| divergent | differing; deviating The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkably divergent accounts of the same epipode. |
| diverse | differing in some characteristics; various There are diverse ways of approaching this problem. |
| diversion | act of turning aside; pastime After studying for several hours, he needed a diversion from work. |
| diversity | variety; dissimilitude The diversity of colleges in this country indicates that many levels of ability are being served. |
| divest | strip; deprive He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern. |
| divine | perceive intuitively; foresee the future Nothing infuriated Tom more than Aunt Polly's ability to divine when he was not telling the truth. |
| divulge | reveal I will not tell you this news because I am sure you will divulge it prematurely. |
| docile | obedient; easily managed As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast. |
| docket | program asfor trial; book where such entries are made The case of Smith v. Jones was entered in the docket for July 15. |
| doctrinaire | unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the repressive response of the doctrinaire hard-liners crushed his dreams of democracy. |
| document | provide written evidence She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm. |
| doddering | shaky; infirm from old age Although he is not as yet a doddering and senile old man, his ideas and opinions no longer can merit the respect we gave them years ago. |
| doff | take off A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady. |
| dogged | determined;stubborn Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean. |
| doggerel | poorverse Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work, most of her writing is mere doggerel. |
| dogmatic | positive; arbitrary Do not be so dogmatic about that statement; it can be easily refuted. |
| doldrums | blues; listlessness; slack period Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over, she found herself in the doldrums. |
| dolorous | sorrowfrl He found the dolorous lamentations of the bereaved family emotionally disturbing and he left as quickly as he could. |
| dolt | stupid person I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead, I find myself addressing a pack of dolts. |
| domicile | home Althoughhis legal domicile was in New York City, his work kept him away from his residence for many years. |
| domineer | rule over tyrannically Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer. |
| don | put on When Clark Kent had to don his Superman outfit, he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth. |
| dormant | sleeping; lethargic; torpid Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize how gifted our acquaintances really are. |
| dormer | window projecting from roof In remodeling the attic into a bedroom, we decided that we needed to put in dormers to provide sufficient ventilation for the new room. |
| dorsal | relating to the back of an animal A shark may be identified by its dorsal fin, which projects above the surface of the ocean. |
| dossier | file of documents on a subject Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, the FBI compiled a complete dossier. |
| dotage | senility In his dotage, the old man bored us with long tales of events in his childhood. |
| dote | be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the littel rascals, too. |
| dour | sullen; stubborn The man was dour abd taciturn. |
| douse | plunge into water; drench; extinguish They doused each other with hoses and balloons. |
| dowdy | slovenly; untidy She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe. |
| downcast | disheartened; sad Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced. |
| drab | dull; lacking color; cheerless The Dutch woman's drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive, colorful native costume she wore beneath it. |
| dregs | sediment; worthless residue David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs. |
| droll | queer and amusing He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining. |
| drone | idle person; male bee Content to let his wife support him, the would-be writer was in reality nothing but a drone. |
| drone | talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee On a gorgeous day, who wants to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teacher drone? |
| dross | waste matter; worhtless impurities Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross. |
| drudgery | menial work Cinderella's fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery. |
| dubious | doubtful He has the dubious distinction of being the lowest man in his class. |
| ductility | malleability; flexibility; ability to be drawn out Copper wire has many industrial uses because of its extreme ductility. |
| dulcet | sweet sounding The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel. |
| dupe | someone easily fooled While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock Holmes was far more difficult to fool. |
| deplicity | double-dealing; hypocrisy People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair, as he had always seemed honest and straightforward. |
| duress | forcible restraint, especially unlawfully The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners' demands were met. |
| dutiful | respectful; obedient The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult aware of his civic obligations. |
| dwindle | shrink; reduce They spent so much money that their funds dwindled to nothing. |
| dynamic | active; efficient A dynamic government is necessary to meet the demands of a changing society. |
| dyspeptic | suffering from indigestion All the talk about rich food made him feel dyspeptic. |
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