Words starting with D | Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for GRE PDF Download

dais:  a raised platform at one end of a room

The dais was lowered to make the speaker look taller.

dally:  to loiter; to waste time

Please do not dally or we will miss our appointment.

dank:  damp and chilly

The cellar became very dank during the winter time.

dauntless: fearless; not discouraged

The dauntless ranger scaled the mountain to complete the rescue.

dearth:  scarcity; shortage

A series of coincidental resignations left the firm with a dearth of talent.

The dearth of the coverage forced him to look for a new insurance agent.

debacle:  disaster; collapse; a rout

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the stock exchanges implemented numerous safeguards to head off another debacle on Wall Street.

debase:  to make lower in quality

The French are concerned that "Franglais," a blending of English and French, will debase their language.

debauchery:  indulgence in one's appetites

The preacher decried debauchery and urged charity.

debilitate:  to enfeeble; to wear out

The phlebitis debilitated him to the point where he was unable even to walk.

The illness will debilitate the muscles in his legs.

debonair:  having an affable manner; carefree; genial

Opening the door for another is a debonair action.

decadence:  a decline in morals or art

Some believe the decadence of Nero's rule led to the fall of the empire.

deciduous:  shedding; temporary

When the leaves began to fall from the tree we learned that it was deciduous.

decisiveness:  an act of being firm or determined

Decisiveness is one of the key qualities of a successful executive.

decorous:  showing decorum; propriety, good taste

This movie provides decorous refuge from the violence and mayhem that permeates the latest crop of Hollywood films.

The decorous suit was made of fine material.

decry:  to denounce or condemn openly

The pastor decried all forms of discrimination against any minority group.

defamation:  to harm a name or reputation; to slander

The carpenter felt that the notoriousness of his former partner brought defamation to his construction business.

deference:  a yielding of opinion; courteous respect for

To avoid a confrontation, the man showed deference to his friend.

The deference shown to the elderly woman's opinion was heartwarming.

deferential:  yielding to the opinion of another

After debating students living in the Sixth Ward for months, the mayor's deferential statements indicated that he had come to some understanding with them.

defunct:  no longer living or existing

The man lost a large sum of money when the company went defunct.

deign:  condescend; stoop

He said he wouldn't deign to dignify her statement with a response.

Fired from his job as a programmer analyst, Joe vowed he would never deign to mop floors-even if he were down to his last penny.

deleterious:  harmful; hurtful; noxious

Deleterious fumes escaped from the overturned truck.

deliberate:  to consider carefully; weigh in the mind; intentional

The jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict.

The brother's deliberate attempt to get his sibling blamed for his mistake was obvious to all.

delineate:  to outline; to describe

She delineated her plan so that everyone would have a basic understanding of it.

deliquesce:  to dissolve

The snow deliquesced when the temperature rose.

delusion:  a false belief or opinion

The historian suffered from the delusion that he was Napoleon.

demise:  ceasing to exist as in death

The demise of Gimbels followed years of decline.

demur:  to object; objection; misgiving

She hated animals, so when the subject of buying a cat came up, she demurred.

She said yes, but he detected a demur in her voice.

She was nominated to sit on the committee, but she demurred.

The council president called for a vote, and hearing no demur, asked for a count by the clerk.

denigrate:  to defame, to blacken or sully; to belittle

After finding out her evil secret, he announced it to the council and denigrated her in public.

Her attempt to denigrate the man's name was not successful.

denounce:  to speak out against; condemn

A student rally was called to denounce the use of drugs on campus.

depict:  to portray; describe

The mural depicts the life of a typical urban dweller.

deplete:  to reduce; to empty, exhaust

Having to pay the entire bill will deplete the family's savings.

deposition:  a removal from office or power; a testimony

Failing to act lawfully could result in his deposition.

She met with her lawyer this morning to review her deposition.

depravity:  moral corruption; badness

Drugs and money caused depravity throughout the once decorous community.

The depravity of the old man was bound to land him in jail one day.

deprecate:  to express disapproval of; to protest against

The environmentalists deprecated the paper companies for cutting down ancient forests.

The organization will deprecate the opening of the sewage plant.

depredation:  a plundering or laying waste

The pharaoh's once rich tomb was empty after centuries of depredation from grave robbers.

deride:  to laugh at with contempt; to mock

No matter what he said, he was derided.

It is impolite to deride someone even if you dislike him.

derision:  the act of mocking; ridicule, mockery

A day of derision from the boss left the employee feeling depressed.

Constant derision from classmates made him quit school.

derisive:  showing disrespect or scorn for

The derisive comment was aimed at the man's life long enemy.

derogatory:  belittling; uncomplimentary

He was upset because his annual review was full of derogatory comments.

descant:  lengthy talking or writing

The man will descant on the subject if you give him too much speaking time.

desecrate:  to profane; violate the sanctity of

The teenagers' attempt to desecrate the church disturbed the community.

desist:  to stop or cease

The judge ordered the man to desist from calling his ex-wife in the middle of the night.

desolate:  to be left alone or made lonely

Driving down the desolate road had Kelvin worried that he wouldn't reach a gas station in time.

despoil:  to take everything; plunder

The Huns despoiled village after village.

despotism:  tyranny; absolute power or influence

The ruler's despotism went uncontested for 30 years.

destitute: poor; poverty-stricken

One Bangladeshi bank makes loans to destitute citizens so that they may overcome their poverty.

Many of the city's sections are destitute.

desultory: moving in a random, directionless manner

The thefts were occurring in a desultory manner making them difficult to track.

detached: separated; not interested; standing alone

Detached from modern conveniences, the islanders live a simple, unhurried life.

deter:  to prevent; to discourage; hinder

He deterred the rabbits by putting down garlic around the garden.

determinate: distinct limits

The new laws were very determinate as far as what was allowed and what was not allowed.

devoid: lacking; empty

The interplanetary probe indicated that the planet was devoid of any atmosphere.

dexterous: skillful, quick mentally or physically

The dexterous gymnast was the epitome of grace on the balance beam.

diatribe:  a bitter or abusive speech

During the divorce hearings she delivered a diatribe full of the emotion pushing her away from her husband.

The diatribe was directed towards a disrespectful supervisor.

dichotomy:  a division into two parts or kinds 

The dichotomy within the party threatens to split it.

The dichotomy between church and state renders school prayer unconstitutional.

dictum:  a formal statement of either fact or opinion

Computer programmers have a dictum:  garbage in, garbage out.

didactic: instructive; dogmatic; preachy

Our teacher's didactic technique boosted our scores.

The didactic activist was not one to be swayed.

diffidence:  a hesitation in asserting oneself

A shy person may have great diffidence when forced with a problem.

diffident: timid; lacking self-confidence

The director is looking for a self-assured actor, not a diffident one.

Her diffident sister couldn't work up the courage to ask for the sale.

diffuse: spread out; verbose (wordy); not focused

The toys were discovered in a diffuse manner after the birthday party.

His monologue was so diffuse that all his points were lost.

digress:  stray from the subject; wander from topic

It is important to not digress from the plan of action.

dilettante:  an admirer of the fine arts; a dabbler

Though she played the piano occasionally, she was more of a dilettante.

diligence:  hard work

Anything can be accomplished with diligence and commitment.

diminutive: smaller than average; a small person; a word, expressing smallness, formed when a
suffix is added

They lived in a diminutive house.

The diminutive woman could not see over the counter.

din: a noise which is loud and continuous

The din of the jackhammers reverberated throughout the concrete canyon.

dint: strength

The dint of the bridge could hold trucks weighing many tons.

dirge: a hymn for a funeral; a song or poem expressing lament

The mourners sang a traditional Irish dirge .

disapprobation: disapproval

Her disapprobation of her daughter's fiancZ' divided the family.

disarray: (state of) disorder

The thief left the house in disarray.

disavow: to deny; to refuse to acknowledge

The actor has disavowed the rumor.

discerning: distinguishing one thing from another; having good judgment

He has a discerning eye for knowing the original from the copy.

Being discerning about a customer's character is a key qualification for a loan officer.

discomfit: to frustrate the expectations of

The close game discomfited the number one player.

discord:  disagreement; lack of harmony

There was discord amidst the jury, and therefore a decision could not be made.

discourse:  to converse; to communicate in an orderly fashion

The scientists discoursed on a conference call for just five minutes but were able to solve three major problems.

The interviewee discoursed so fluently, she was hired on the spot.

discreet: showing good judgment in conduct; prudent

We confided our secret in Mary because we knew she'd be discreet.

discrete: separate; individually distinct; composed of distinct parts

There were four discrete aspects to the architecture of the home.

The citizens committee maintained that road widening and drainage were hardly discrete issues.

discriminate:  distinguish; demonstrate bias

Being a chef, he discriminated carefully among ingredients.

Reeling from the fact that senior managers had been caught on tape making offensive remarks, the CEO said he would not tolerate any of his firm's employees discriminating against anyone for any reason.

disdain:  intense dislike; look down upon; scorn

She showed great disdain toward anyone who did not agree with her.

She disdains the very ground you walk upon.

disentangle:  to free from confusion

We need to disentangle ourselves from the dizzying variety of choices.

disheartened: discouraged; depressed

After failing the exam, the student became disheartened and wondered if he would ever graduate.

disingenuous: not frank or candid; deceivingly simple (opposite:  ingenious)

The director used a disingenuous remark to make his point to the student.

He always gives a quick, disingenuous response; you never get a straight answer.

disinterested: neutral; unbiased (alternate meaning; uninterested)

A disinterested person was needed to serve as arbitrator of the argument.

He never takes sides; he's always disinterested.

disparage:  to belittle; undervalue; to discredit

After she fired him she realized that she had disparaged the value of his assistance.

The lawyer will attempt to disparage the testimony of the witness.

disparate: unequal; dissimilar; different

They came from disparate backgrounds, one a real estate magnate, the other a custodian.

The disparate numbers of players made the game a sure blowout.

disparity:  difference in form, character, or degree

There is a great disparity between a light snack and a great feast.

dispassionate: lack of feeling; impartial

She was a very emotional person and could not work with such a dispassionate employer.

disperse:  to scatter; separate

The pilots dispersed the food drops over a wide area of devastation.

Tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.

disputatious: argumentative; inclined to disputes

His disputatious streak eventually wore down his fellow parliament members.

The child was so disputatious he needed to be removed from the room.

dissemble:  to pretend; to feign; to conceal by pretense

The man dissembled his assets shamelessly to avoid paying alimony.

Agent 007 has a marvelous ability to dissemble his real intentions.

disseminate:  to circulate; scatter

He was hired to disseminate newspapers to everyone in the town.

The preacher traveled across the country to disseminate his message.

dissent:  to disagree; differ in opinion

They agreed that something had to be done, but dissented on how to do it.

dissonance:  musical discord; a mingling of inharmonious sounds; nonmusical; disagreement; lack of harmony

Much twentieth-century music is not liked by classical music lovers because of the dissonance it holds and the harmonies it lacks.

The dissonance of his composition makes for some rough listening.

dissonant: not in harmony; in disagreement

Despite several intense rehearsals, the voices of the choir members continued to be dissonant.

The dissonant nature of the man's temperament made the woman fearful to approach him with the new idea.

distant: having separations or being reserved

Rolonda's friends have become more distant in recent years.

distention:  inflation or extension

The bulge in the carpet was caused by the distention of the wood underneath.

dither:  to act indecisively; a confused condition

She dithered every time she had to make a decision.

Having to take two tests in one day left the student in a dither.

diverge:  separate, split

The path diverges at the old barn, one fork leading to the house, and the other leading to the pond.

The wide, long river diverged into two distinct separate rivers, never again to join.

diverse: different; varied

The course offerings were so diverse I had a tough time choosing.

divestiture:  being stripped

When it was found the team cheated, there was a divestiture of their crown.

docile: manageable; obedient; gentle

We needed to choose a docile pet because we hadn't the patience for a lot of training.

document:  official paper containing information; to support; substantiate; verify

They needed a written document to prove that the transaction occurred.

Facing an audit, she had to document all her client contacts.

doggerel:  verse characterized by forced rhyme and meter

Contrary to its appearance, doggerel can contain some weighty messages.

dogma:  a collection of beliefs

The dogma of the village was based on superstition.

dogmatic: stubborn; biased; opinionated

Their dogmatic declaration clarified their position.

The dogmatic statement had not yet been proven by science.

The student's dogmatic presentation annoyed his classmates as well as his instructor.

dormant: as if asleep

The animals lay dormant until the spring thaw.

doting: excessively fond of

With great joy, the doting father held the toddler.

doughty: brave and strong

The doughty fireman saved the woman's life.

dowdy: shabby in appearance

The dowdy girl had no buttons on her coat and the threads were falling apart.

dubious: doubtful; uncertain; skeptical; suspicious

Many people are dubious about the possibility of intelligent life on other planets.

The new information was dubious enough to re-open the case.

duplicity:  deception

She forgave his duplicity but divorced him anyway.

duress:  imprisonment; the use of threats

His duress was supposed to last 10-15 years.

The policewoman put the man under duress in order to get a confession.

The Labor Department inspector needed to establish whether the plant workers had been held under duress.