IELTS Exam Vocabulary List - D
- daring adj. Brave.
- darkling adv. Blindly.
- darwinism n. The doctrine that natural selection has been the prime cause of evolution of higher forms.
- dastard n. A base coward.
- datum n. A premise, starting-point, or given fact.
- dauntless adj. Fearless.
- day-man n. A day-laborer.
- dead-heat n. A race in which two or more competitors come out even, and there is no winner.
- dearth n. Scarcity, as of something customary, essential ,or desirable.
- death's-head n. A human skull as a symbol of death.
- debase v. To lower in character or virtue.
- debatable adj. Subject to contention or dispute.
- debonair adj. Having gentle or courteous bearing or manner.
- debut n. A first appearance in society or on the stage.
- decagon n. A figure with ten sides and ten angles.
- decagram n. A weight of 10 grams.
- decaliter n. A liquid and dry measure of 10 liters.
- decalogue n. The ten commandments.
- Decameron n. A volume consisting of ten parts or books.
- decameter n. A length of ten meters.
- decamp v. To leave suddenly or unexpectedly.
- decapitate v. To behead.
- decapod adj. Ten-footed or ten-armed.
- decasyllable n. A line of ten syllables.
- deceit n. Falsehood.
- deceitful adj. Fraudulent.
- deceive v. To mislead by or as by falsehood.
- decency n. Moral fitness.
- decent adj. Characterized by propriety of conduct, speech, manners, or dress.
- deciduous adj. Falling off at maturity as petals after flowering, fruit when ripe, etc.
- decimal adj. Founded on the number 10.
- decimate v. To destroy a measurable or large proportion of.
- decipher v. To find out the true words or meaning of, as something hardly legible.
- decisive ad. Conclusive.
- declamation n. A speech recited or intended for recitation from memory in public.
- declamatory adj. A full and formal style of utterance.
- declarative adj. Containing a formal, positive, or explicit statement or affirmation.
- declension n. The change of endings in nouns and adj. to express their different relations of gender.
- decorate v. To embellish.
- decorous adj. Suitable for the occasion or circumstances.
- decoy n. Anything that allures, or is intended to allures into danger or temptation.
- decrepit adj. Enfeebled, as by old age or some chronic infirmity.
- dedication n. The voluntary consecration or relinquishment of something to an end or cause.
- deduce v. To derive or draw as a conclusion by reasoning from given premises or principles.
- deface v. To mar or disfigure the face or external surface of.
- defalcate v. To cut off or take away, as a part of something.
- defamation n. Malicious and groundless injury done to the reputation or good name of another.
- defame v. To slander.
- default n. The neglect or omission of a legal requirement.
- defendant n. A person against whom a suit is brought.
- defensible adj. Capable of being maintained or justified.
- defensive adj. Carried on in resistance to aggression.
- defer v. To delay or put off to some other time.
- deference n. Respectful submission or yielding, as to another's opinion, wishes, or judgment.
- defiant adj. Characterized by bold or insolent opposition.
- deficiency n. Lack or insufficiency.
- deficient adj. Not having an adequate or proper supply or amount.
- definite adj. Having an exact signification or positive meaning.
- deflect v. To cause to turn aside or downward.
- deforest v. To clear of forests.
- deform v. To disfigure.
- deformity n. A disfigurement.
- defraud v. To deprive of something dishonestly.
- defray v. To make payment for.
- degeneracy n. A becoming worse.
- degenerate v. To become worse or inferior.
- degradation n. Diminution, as of strength or magnitude.
- degrade v. To take away honors or position from.
- dehydrate v. To deprive of water.
- deify v. To regard or worship as a god.
- deign v. To deem worthy of notice or account.
- deist n. One who believes in God, but denies supernatural revelation.
- deity n. A god, goddess, or divine person.
- deject v. To dishearten.
- dejection n. Melancholy.
- delectable adj. Delightful to the taste or to the senses.
- delectation n. Delight.
- deleterious adj. Hurtful, morally or physically.
- delicacy n. That which is agreeable to a fine taste.
- delineate v. To represent by sketch or diagram.
- deliquesce v. To dissolve gradually and become liquid by absorption of moisture from the air.
- delirious adj. Raving.
- delude v. To mislead the mind or judgment of.
- deluge v. To overwhelm with a flood of water.
- delusion n. Mistaken conviction, especially when more or less enduring.
- demagnetize v. To deprive (a magnet) of magnetism.
- demagogue n. An unprincipled politician.
- demeanor n. Deportment.
- demented adj. Insane.
- demerit n. A mark for failure or bad conduct.
- demise n. Death.
- demobilize v. To disband, as troops.
- demolish v. To annihilate.
- demonstrable adj. Capable of positive proof.
- demonstrate v. To prove indubitably.
- demonstrative adj. Inclined to strong exhibition or expression of feeling or thoughts.
- demonstrator n. One who proves in a convincing and conclusive manner.
- demulcent n. Any application soothing to an irritable surface
- demurrage n. the detention of a vessel beyond the specified time of sailing.
- dendroid adj. Like a tree.
- dendrology n. The natural history of trees.
- denizen n. Inhabitant.
- denominate v. To give a name or epithet to.
- denomination n. A body of Christians united by a common faith and form of worship and discipline.
- denominator n. Part of a fraction which expresses the number of equal parts into which the unit is divided.
- denote v. To designate by word or mark.
- denouement n. That part of a play or story in which the mystery is cleared up.
- denounce v. To point out or publicly accuse as deserving of punishment, censure, or odium.
- dentifrice n. Any preparation used for cleaning the teeth.
- denude v. To strip the covering from.
- denunciation n. The act of declaring an action or person worthy of reprobation or punishment.
- deplete v. To reduce or lessen, as by use, exhaustion, or waste.
- deplorable adj. Contemptible.
- deplore v. To regard with grief or sorrow.
- deponent adj. Laying down.
- depopulate v. To remove the inhabitants from.
- deport v. To take or send away forcibly, as to a penal colony.
- deportment n. Demeanor.
- deposition n. Testimony legally taken on interrogatories and reduced to writing, for use as evidence in court.
- depositor n. One who makes a deposit, or has an amount deposited.
- depository n. A place where anything is kept in safety.
- deprave v. To render bad, especially morally bad.
- deprecate v. To express disapproval or regret for, with hope for the opposite.
- depreciate v. To lessen the worth of.
- depreciation n. A lowering in value or an underrating in worth.
- depress v. To press down.
- depression n. A falling of the spirits.
- depth n. Deepness.
- derelict adj. Neglectful of obligation.
- deride v. To ridicule.
- derisible adj. Open to ridicule.
- derision n. Ridicule.
- derivation n. That process by which a word is traced from its original root or primitive form and meaning.
- derivative adj. Coming or acquired from some origin.
- derive v. To deduce, as from a premise.
- dermatology n. The branch of medical science which relates to the skin and its diseases.
- derrick n. An apparatus for hoisting and swinging great weights.
- descendant n. One who is descended lineally from another, as a child, grandchild, etc.
- descendent adj. Proceeding downward.
- descent n. The act of moving or going downward.
- descry v. To discern.
- desert v. To abandon without regard to the welfare of the abandoned
- desiccant n. Any remedy which, when applied externally, dries up or absorbs moisture, as that of wounds.
- designate v. To select or appoint, as by authority.
- desist v. To cease from action.
- desistance n. Cessation.
- despair n. Utter hopelessness and despondency.
- desperado n. One without regard for law or life.
- desperate adj. Resorted to in a last extremity, or as if prompted by utter despair.
- despicable adj. Contemptible.
- despite prep. In spite of.
- despond v. To lose spirit, courage, or hope.
- despondent adj. Disheartened.
- despot n. An absolute and irresponsible monarch.
- despotism n. Any severe and strict rule in which the judgment of the governed has little or no part.
- destitute adj. Poverty-stricken.
- desultory adj. Not connected with what precedes.
- deter v. To frighten away.
- deteriorate v. To grow worse.
- determinate adj. Definitely limited or fixed.
- determination n. The act of deciding.
- deterrent adj. Hindering from action through fear.
- detest v. To dislike or hate with intensity.
- detract v. To take away in such manner as to lessen value or estimation.
- detriment n. Something that causes damage, depreciation, or loss.
- detrude v. To push down forcibly.
- deviate v. To take a different course.
- devilry n. Malicious mischief.
- deviltry n. Wanton and malicious mischief.
- devious adj. Out of the common or regular track.
- devise v. To invent.
- devout adj. Religious.
- dexterity n. Readiness, precision, efficiency, and ease in any physical activity or in any mechanical work.
- diabolic adj. Characteristic of the devil.
- diacritical adj. Marking a difference.
- diagnose v. To distinguish, as a disease, by its characteristic phenomena.
- diagnosis n. Determination of the distinctive nature of a disease.
- dialect n. Forms of speech collectively that are peculiar to the people of a particular district.
- dialectician n. A logician.
- dialogue n. A formal conversation in which two or more take part.
- diaphanous adj. Transparent.
- diatomic adj. Containing only two atoms.
- diatribe n. A bitter or malicious criticism.
- dictum n. A positive utterance.
- didactic adj. Pertaining to teaching.
- difference n. Dissimilarity in any respect.
- differentia n. Any essential characteristic of a species by reason of which it differs from other species.
- differential adj. Distinctive.
- differentiate v. To acquire a distinct and separate character.
- diffidence n. Self-distrust.
- diffident adj. Affected or possessed with self-distrust.
- diffusible adj. Spreading rapidly through the system and acting quickly.
- diffusion n. Dispersion.
- dignitary n. One who holds high rank.
- digraph n. A union of two characters representing a single sound.
- digress v. To turn aside from the main subject and for a time dwell on some incidental matter.
- dilapidated pa. Fallen into decay or partial ruin.
- dilate v. To enlarge in all directions.
- dilatory adj. Tending to cause delay.
- dilemma n. A situation in which a choice between opposing modes of conduct is necessary.
- dilettante n. A superficial amateur.
- diligence n. Careful and persevering effort to accomplish what is undertaken.
- dilute v. To make more fluid or less concentrated by admixture with something.
- diminution n. Reduction.
- dimly adv. Obscurely.
- diphthong n. The sound produced by combining two vowels in to a single syllable or running together the sounds.
- diplomacy n. Tact, shrewdness, or skill in conducting any kind of negotiations or in social matters.
- diplomat n. A representative of one sovereign state at the capital or court of another.
- diplomatic adj. Characterized by special tact in negotiations.
- diplomatist n. One remarkable for tact and shrewd management.
- disagree v. To be opposite in opinion.
- disallow v. To withhold permission or sanction.
- disappear v. To cease to exist, either actually or for the time being.
- disappoint v. To fail to fulfill the expectation, hope, wish, or desire of.
- disapprove v. To regard with blame.
- disarm v. To deprive of weapons.
- disarrange v. To throw out of order.
- disavow v. To disclaim responsibility for.
- disavowal n. Denial.
- disbeliever n. One who refuses to believe.
- disburden v. To disencumber.
- disburse v. To pay out or expend, as money from a fund.
- discard v. To reject.
- discernible adj. Perceivable.
- disciple n. One who believes the teaching of another, or who adopts and follows some doctrine.
- disciplinary adj. Having the nature of systematic training or subjection to authority.
- discipline v. To train to obedience.
- disclaim v. To disavow any claim to, connection with, or responsibility to.
- discolor v. To stain.
- discomfit v. To put to confusion.
- discomfort n. The state of being positively uncomfortable.
- disconnect v. To undo or dissolve the connection or association of.
- disconsolate adj. Grief-stricken.
- discontinuance n. Interruption or intermission.
- discord n. Absence of harmoniousness.
- discountenance v. To look upon with disfavor.
- discover v. To get first sight or knowledge of, as something previously unknown or unperceived.
- discredit v. To injure the reputation of.
- discreet adj. Judicious.
- discrepant adj. Opposite.
- discriminate v. To draw a distinction.
- discursive adj. Passing from one subject to another.
- discussion n. Debate.
- disenfranchise v. To deprive of any right privilege or power
- disengage v. To become detached.
- disfavor n. Disregard.
- disfigure v. To impair or injure the beauty, symmetry, or appearance of.
- dishabille n. Undress or negligent attire.
- dishonest adj. Untrustworthy.
- disillusion v. To disenchant.
- disinfect v. To remove or destroy the poison of infectious or contagious diseases.
- disinfectant n. A substance used to destroy the germs of infectious diseases.
- disinherit v. To deprive of an inheritance.
- disinterested adj. Impartial.
- disjunctive adj. Helping or serving to disconnect or separate.
- dislocate v. To put out of proper place or order.
- dismissal n. Displacement by authority from an office or an employment.
- dismount v. To throw down, push off, or otherwise remove from a horse or the like.
- disobedience n. Neglect or refusal to comply with an authoritative injunction.
- disobedient adj. Neglecting or refusing to obey.
- disown v. To refuse to acknowledge as one's own or as connected with oneself.
- disparage v. To regard or speak of slightingly.
- disparity n. Inequality.
- dispel v. To drive away by or as by scattering in different directions.
- dispensation n. That which is bestowed on or appointed to one from a higher power.
- displace v. To put out of the proper or accustomed place.
- dispossess v. To deprive of actual occupancy, especially of real estate.
- disputation n. Verbal controversy.
- disqualify v. To debar.
- disquiet v. To deprive of peace or tranquility.
- disregard v. To take no notice of.
- disreputable adj. Dishonorable or disgraceful.
- disrepute n. A bad name or character.
- disrobe v. To unclothe.
- disrupt v. To burst or break asunder.
- dissatisfy v. To displease.
- dissect v. To cut apart or to pieces.
- dissection n. The act or operation of cutting in pieces, specifically of a plant or an animal.
- dissemble v. To hide by pretending something different.
- disseminate v. To sow or scatter abroad, as seed is sown.
- dissension n. Angry or violent difference of opinion.
- dissent n. Disagreement.
- dissentient n. One who disagrees.
- dissentious adj. Contentious.
- dissertation n. Thesis.
- disservice n. An ill turn.
- dissever v. To divide.
- dissimilar adj. Different.
- dissipate v. To disperse or disappear.
- dissipation n. The state of being dispersed or scattered.
- dissolute adj. Lewd.
- dissolution n. A breaking up of a union of persons.
- dissolve v. To liquefy or soften, as by heat or moisture.
- dissonance n. Discord.
- dissonant adj. Harsh or disagreeable in sound.
- dissuade v. To change the purpose or alter the plans of by persuasion, counsel, or pleading.
- dissuasion n. The act of changing the purpose of or altering the plans of through persuasion, or pleading.
- disyllable n. A word of two syllables.
- distemper n. A disease or malady.
- distend v. To stretch out or expand in every direction.
- distensible adj. Capable of being stretched out or expanded in every direction.
- distention n. Expansion.
- distill v. To extract or produce by vaporization and condensation.
- distillation n. Separation of the more volatile parts of a substance from those less volatile.
- distiller n. One occupied in the business of distilling alcoholic liquors.
- distinction n. A note or designation of honor, officially recognizing superiority or success in studies.
- distort v. To twist into an unnatural or irregular form.
- distrain v. To subject a person to distress.
- distrainor n. One who subjects a person to distress.
- distraught adj. Bewildered.
- distrust n. Lack of confidence in the power, wisdom, or good intent of any person.
- disunion n. Separation of relations or interests.
- diurnal adj. Daily.
- divagation n. Digression.
- divergent adj. Tending in different directions.
- diverse adj. Capable of various forms.
- diversion n. Pastime.
- diversity n. Dissimilitude.
- divert v. To turn from the accustomed course or a line of action already established.
- divertible adj. Able to be turned from the accustomed course or a line of action already established.
- divest v. To strip, specifically of clothes, ornaments, or accouterments or disinvestment.
- divination n. The pretended forecast of future events or discovery of what is lost or hidden.
- divinity n. The quality or character of being godlike.
- divisible adj. Capable of being separated into parts.
- divisor n. That by which a number or quantity is divided.
- divulge v. To tell or make known, as something previously private or secret.
- divulgence n. A divulging.
- docile adj. Easy to manage.
- docket n. The registry of judgments of a court.
- doe n. The female of the deer.
- dogma n. A statement of religious faith or duty formulated by a body claiming authority.
- dogmatic adj. Making statements without argument or evidence.
- dogmatize v. To make positive assertions without supporting them by argument or evidence.
- doleful adj. Melancholy.
- dolesome adj. Melancholy.
- dolor n. Lamentation.
- dolorous adj. Expressing or causing sorrow or pain.
- domain n. A sphere or field of action or interest.
- domesticity n. Life in or fondness for one's home and family.
- domicile n. The place where one lives.
- dominance n. Ascendancy.
- dominant adj. Conspicuously prominent.
- dominate v. To influence controllingly.
- domination n. Control by the exercise of power or constituted authority.
- domineer v. To rule with insolence or unnecessary annoyance.
- donate v. To bestow as a gift, especially for a worthy cause.
- donator n. One who makes a donation or present.
- donee n. A person to whom a donation is made.
- donor n. One who makes a donation or present.
- dormant adj. Being in a state of or resembling sleep.
- doublet n. One of a pair of like things.
- doubly adv. In twofold degree or extent.
- dowry n. The property which a wife brings to her husband in marriage.
- drachma n. A modern and an ancient Greek coin.
- dragnet n. A net to be drawn along the bottom of the water.
- dragoon n. In the British army, a cavalryman.
- drainage n. The means of draining collectively, as a system of conduits, trenches, pipes, etc.
- dramatist n. One who writes plays.
- dramatize v. To relate or represent in a dramatic or theatrical manner.
- drastic adj. Acting vigorously.
- drought n. Dry weather, especially when so long continued as to cause vegetation to wither.
- drowsy adj. Heavy with sleepiness.
- drudgery n. Hard and constant work in any menial or dull occupation.
- dubious adj. Doubtful.
- duckling n. A young duck.
- ductile adj. Capable of being drawn out, as into wire or a thread.
- duet n. A composition for two voices or instruments.
- dun v. To make a demand or repeated demands on for payment.
- duplex adj. Having two parts.
- duplicity n. Double-dealing.
- durance n. Confinement.
- duration n. The period of time during which anything lasts.
- duteous adj. Showing submission to natural superiors.
- dutiable adj. Subject to a duty, especially a customs duty.
- dutiful adj. Obedient.
- dwindle v. To diminish or become less.
- dyne n. The force which, applied to a mass of one gram for 1 second, would give it a velocity of 1 cm/s.
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