gre vocabulary d
Terms
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- dyspeptic
- suffering from indigestion. All the talk about rich food made him feel dyspeptic. dyspepsia N
- dynamic
- energetic; vigorously active. The dynamic aerobics instructor kept her students on the run; she was a little dynamo
- dwindle
- shrink; reduce. The food in the lifeboat gradually dwindled away to nothing; in the end, they ate the ship's cook
- dutiful
- respectful; obedient. When Mother told Billy to kiss Great Aunt Hattie, the boy obediently gave the old woman a dutifl peck on her cheek
- duress
- forcible restraint; especially unlawfully. The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners' demands were met
- duration
- length of time something lasts
- duplicity
- double-dealing. Hypocrisy. WHen christina learned that marc had been 2 timing her, she was furious at his duplicity. duplicitous. adj
- dupe
- someone easily fooled. While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock HOmes was far more difficult to fool
- dumbfound
- astonish. Egbert's perfect score on the GRE dumbfounded his classmates, who had always considered him to be utterly dumb
- dulcet
- sweet sounding. The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel
- ductile
- malleable; flexible; pliable. Copper is ane xtremely ductile material; you can stretch it into the thinnest of wires, bend it, even wind it into loops. ductility N
- dubious
- questionable; filled with doubt. Some critics of the GRE contend the test is of dubious worth. Tony claimed he could get a perfect score on the test, but Tina was dubious; she kenw he hadn't cracked a book in 3 years. Dubiety. N
- drudgery
- menial work. Cinderella's fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery
- dross
- waste matter; worthless impurities. Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross
- drone
- idle person; male bee. Content to let his wife support him, the would be writer was in reality nothing but a drone
- droll
- queer and amusing. HE was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining
- drivel
- nonsense; folishness. Why do I have to spend my days listening to such idiotic drivel? Drivel is related to dribble; think of a dribbling, driveling idiot
- dregs
- sediment; worthless resideue. David poued the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs
- draconian
- extremely severe. When the principal canceled the senior prom because some seniors had been late to school that week, we thought the draconian punishment was far too harsh for such a minor violation of the rules
- drab
- dull; lacking color; cheerless. THe Dutch woman's drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive, coloful native costume she wore beneath it.
- downcast
- disheartened; sad. Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was neverdowncast despite the difficulties she faced
- dowdy
- slovenly; untidy. She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe
- douse
- plunge into water; drench; extinguish. They doused each other with hoses and water balloons
- dour
- sullen; stubborn. The man was dour and taciturn
- dote
- be excessively fond of ; show signs of mental decline. Not only grandmothers bore you with stoires abotu their brilliant grandchidren; grandfathers dote on the little rascals too
- dotage
- senility. In his dotage, the ol man oredus with long tales of events in his childhood
- dossier
- file of documents on a subject. Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, The FBI compiled a complete dossier on him.
- dorsal
- relating to the back of an animla. A shark may be identified by its dorsal fin, which projects above the surface of the ocean.
- dormant
- sleeping; lethargic; latent. At fifty her long-dormant ambition to write flared up once more; within ayear she had completed the first of her great historical novels. dormancy
- don
- put on. When Clark Kent had to don his superman outfit, he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth
- domineer
- rule over tyrannically. Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer
- domicile
- home. Although his legal domicile was in New York City, his work kept him away from his residence for many years. v
- dolt
- stupid person; dunce. The heroes of Dumb and Dumber are, as the title suggests, a classic pair of dolts
- dolorous
- sorrowful. The conflict between Lancelot's love for Guinevere and his loyality to King Arthur led to Arthur's 'dolorous death and departing out of this world'.
- doleful
- mournful; causing sadness. Eyeore, the lugubrious donkey immortalized by A.A. Milne, looked at his cheerful friend Tigger and sighed a doleful sigh.
- doldrums
- blues; listlessness; slack period. Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over, she found herself in the doldrums
- dogmatic
- opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal. We tried to discourage Doug from being so dogmatic, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong
- doggerel
- poor verse. Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work, most of her writing is mere doggerel.
- dogged
- determined; stubborn. Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean
- doff
- take off. A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady
- doddering
- shaky; infirm from old age. Lear's cruel daughters treat him as a doddering old fool, too aged and infirm to be taken seriously.
- document
- provide written evidence
- doctrine
- teachiings in general; partical principle (religious, legal) taught
- doctrinaire
- unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding. Weng had hoped that the student led democracy movement might bring about a change in china, but the repressive response of the doctrinaire hard liners crusihed his dreams of democracy
- docket
- program as for trial; book where such entries are made. The case of Smith V. Hones was entered in the docket for July 15.
- docile
- obedient; easily managed. As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast. Docility. N
- divulge
- reveal. No lover of gossip, Charlotte would never divulge anything that a friend told her in confidence
- divine
- perceive intuitvely; foresee the future. Nothing infuriated Tom more than Betty's ability to divine when he's not telling the truth
- divest
- strip; deprive. He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern. diverstiture N
- diversity
- variety; dissimilitude
- diversion
- act of turning aside; pasttime. After studying for several horus, he needed a diversion from work, divert v
- divese
- differing in some characterists; various
- divergent
- differing; deviating.
- diverge
- vary; go in different directions from the same point.
- diva
- operatic singer; prima donna. Although world famous as a diva, she did not indulge in fits of temperament
- diurnal
- daily. A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly
- distraught
- upset; distracted by anxiety. The distraught parnts frantically searched the ravine for their lost child
- distrait
- inattentive; distracted, often by anxiety. Jane was so caught up in her wedding plans that her family and friends considered her absent-minded, distrait, aloof and generally usless
- distort
- twist out of shape. It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of the riots because of the way some reporters distort and exaggerate the actual events.
- distinction
- honor; contrast; discrimination
- distill
- purify; refine; concentrate. distill water
- distend
- expand; swell outl. I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead
- distant
- reserved or aloof; cold in manner. Her distant greeting made me feel unwelcome from the start (secondary meaning)
- dissuade
- persuade not to do; discourage. since Tom could not dissuade Huck from running away from home, he decided to run away with his friend. Dissuaion n
- dissonance
- discord; opposite of harmony.
- dissolution
- disintegration; looseness in morals. The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's rome appall some historians. dissolute adj
- dissipate
- squander; waste; scatter. He is a fine artist, but I fear he may dissipate his figts if he keeps wasting his time playing Trivial Pursuit
- dissimulate
- pretend; conceal by feigning. Although the governor tried to dissimulate his feelings about the opposing candidate, we all knew he despised his rival
- dssident
- dissenting; rebellious. IN the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square, the governemnet hunted down the dissident students and their supporters
- dissertation
- formal essay
- dissent
- disagree. IN the recent Supreme Court decision, Justice O Connor dissented from the majority opinion
- disseminate
- distribute; spread; scatter (like sees) B their use of the internet; propangandist have been able to disseminate their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe
- dissemble
- disguise; pretend. Even tho John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew he was there not to dance but to meet girls.
- dissection
- analysis; cutting apart in order to examine
- disquisiton
- a formal systematic inquiry; an explanation of the results of a formal inquiry. In his disquisiton, he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions
- disquietude
- uneasiess; anxiety. When Holmes had been gone fr a day, Watson felt only a slight sense of disquietude, but after a week with no word, Watson's uneasiness about his misisng friend had frown into a deep fear for Holmes's safety. disquiet n, v
- disputatious
- argumentative; fond of arguing. Covinced he knwe more than his lawyers, tony was a disputatious client, ready to argue abotu the best way to conduct the case
- disport
- amuse. The popularity of Florida as a winter resport is constantly increasing; eachyear, thousands more disport themselves at Miami and Palm Beach
- dispirited
- lacking in spirit. The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which had become dispirited at the loss of the star player.
- disperse
- scatter. The police fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse the protesters, dispersion n
- dispel
- scatter; drive away; cause to vanish. The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist
- dispatch
- speediness; prompt execution, message sent with all due speed. YOung Napoleon defeated the enmy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a ispatch to headquarters, informing his commander of the great victory
- dispassionate
- calm; impartial. KNown in the company for his cool judgment, Bill could impartially examine the causes of a probleml giving a dispassionate analysis of what had gone wrong, and go on to suggest how to correct the mess
- disparity
- difference; condition of inequality. Their disparity in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella
- disparate
- basically different; unrelated
- disparage
- belittle. A doting mother, Emma was more likely to praise her son's crude attempts at art than to disparage them
- dismiss
- eliminate from consideration; reject
- dismember
- cut into small parts. When the AUstrian empire was dismembered, several new countries were established
- dismantle
- take apart. When the show closed, they dismantled the scenery before storing it
- dislodge
- remove (forcibl) Thrusting her fist up under the choking mn's lower ribs, Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the food caught in his throat
- disjunction
- act or state of separationo; disunity. Believing the mind could greatly affect the body's health, theholistic doctor rejected the notion of a necessary dis-junction of mind and body
- disjointed
- lacking coherence; separated at the joints
- disinterested
- unprejudiced. Given the judge's political ambitions and the lawyers' financial interest in the case,t he only disinterested person in the courtrooom they have bene the court reporter
- disinter
- dig up; unearth. They disinterred the body and held an autopsy
- disingenuous
- lacking genuine candor; insincere. Now that we know that the mayor and his wife are engaged in a bitter divorce fight, we find their earlier remarks regretting their lack of tiem together remarkably disingenuous
- disheveled
- untidy. Akkikuni's disheveled appearance will hurt his chances working in the real estate industry
- dishearten
- discourage. His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him
- disgruntle
- make discontented. The passengers were disgruntled by the numerous delays
- disgorge
- surrender something; eject; vomit. Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away
- disfigure
- mar the appearance of; spoil. An ugly frown disfigured her normally pleasant face
- disengage
- uncouple; separate; disconnect. A standard movie routine involves the hero's desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving train
- disenfranchise
- deprive of a civil right. The imposition of the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern Blacks, who lost their right to vote
- 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
- disdain
- view with scorn or contempt. In the film funny face, the bookish heroine disdained fahsion models for their lack of intellectual interest
- discursive
- digressing; rambling. As the lecturer wandered from topic to topic, we wondered what if any point there was to his discursive remarks.
- discriminating
- able to see difference; prejudiced. A superb interpreter of Picasso, she was sufficiently discriminating to judge the most complex workds of modern art. discrimination N
- discretion
- prudence in speech, actions; ability to decide responsibly; freedom to act on one's own. Charlotte was the soul of discretion; she enver would repeat anything told to her in confidence
- discrete
- separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts. IN programmed instruction, the information to be learned is presented in discrete units, you must repsond correctly to each until before you may advance to the next
- discrepancy
- lack of consistency; different
- discredit
- defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve. The campaign was highly negative in tone; each candidate tried to discredit the other.
- discourse
- formal discussion; conversation. The youg plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the pphilosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers
- discount
- disregard. Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex wife
- discordant
- not harmonious; conflicting. Nothing is quite so discordant as the sound of a junior high school orchestra tuning up
- discord
- conflict; lack of harmony. Watching Tweediedum battle Tweedledee, Alice wondered what had caused this pointless discord
- disconsolate
- sad. The death of his wife left him disconsolate
- disconcert
- confuse; upset; embarrass. THe lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary
- discomfit
- put to rout; defeat; disconcert. This ruse will discomfit the enmy. discomfiture n discomfited
- discombobulated
- confused; discomposed. The novice square dancer became so discombobulated that he wandered into the wrong set
- disclose
- revea;. Although comeptitors offered him bribes, he refused to disclose any information about the company's forthcoming product. disclosure n