DENOUEMENT (n) [dey-noo-MAHN]
Syn: outcome; final development of the plot of a play
Ant: beginning
Usage: When the final denouement was reached, the public heaved a sigh for the wait for a verdict had been too long.
DEPOSE (v) [di-POHZ]
Syn: dethrone; remove from office
Ant: enthrone; elect
Usage: The young prince deposed his own father to take over rule of the kingdom.
DEPRAVITY (n) [di-PRAV-i-tee]
Syn: extreme corruption; wickedness
Ant: nobility
Usage: I was saddened to see the depravity and degradation William had been reduced to after the death of his moralistic wife.
DERIDE (v) [di-RAHYD]
Syn: ridicule; make fun of; scoff
Ant: applaud
Usage: Little Paul was scared that his peers in school would deride him for his misshapen outfit.
DERISION (n) [di-RIZH-uh n]
Syn: ridicule
Ant: praise; compliments
Usage: He looked at her with scorn and derision.
DERIVATIVE (adj) [di-RIV-uh-tiv]
Syn: unoriginal; derived from another source
Ant: original
Usage: The derivative outcome of the bill is the massive surge in employment.
DESICCATE (v) [DES-i-keyt]
Syn: dry up
Ant: moisten
Usage: The recipe required the use of dry and desiccated coconut.
DESIDERATUM (n) [di-sid-uh-REY-tuh m]
Syn: a thing lacking, but desired or needed
Ant: neglect; avoidance; purposelessness
Usage: The desideratum or motive was the toughest to determine; everything else was easy.
DESPERADO (n) [des-puh-RAH-doh]
Syn: reckless outlaw
Usage: Gary Summers is wanted by the sheriff who claims that he is a desperado and a law-breaker.
DESPICABLE (adj) [DES-pi-kuh-buh l]
Syn: contemptible
Ant: commendable
Usage: The woman’s behavior was utterly despicable and disgusting.
DESPOIL (v) [di-SPOIL]
Syn: plunder; pillage
Ant: build; construct; improve
Usage: The unruly, noisy crowd then went on a rampage and despoiled the palace.
DESULTORY (adj) [DES-uh l-tawr-ee]
Syn: aimless; haphazard; digressing at random
Ant: consecutive; serious; methodical; diligent; thorough; painstaking
Usage: They wandered desultorily and aimlessly for more than three hours in the woods before collapsing of fatigue near the stream.
DETONATION (v) [det-n-EY-shuh n]
Syn: explosion
Usage: The detonation of the mines coincided with the arrival of the oil ministry officials in the region.
DETRIMENTAL (adj) [de-truh-MEN-tl]
Syn: harmful; damaging
Ant: helpful
Usage: This decision she has taken is detrimental and harmful to her health.
DIADEM (n) [DAHY-uh-dem]
Syn: crown: control
Ant: weakness
Usage: She wore a glittering diadem and a lovely brocade gown.
DIALECTIC (n) [dahy-uh-LEK-tik]
Syn: art of debate
Ant: agreement
Usage: He was in an argumentative mood, so the critical statement pushed him into a hot dialectic with his colleague.
DIAPHANOUS (adj) [dahy-AF-uh-nuhs]
Syn: sheer; transparent
Ant: thick; opaque
Usage: He was embarrassed to see her clad in a diaphanous gown and politely refused to step inside the room.
DIATRIBE (n) [DAHY-uh-trahyb]
Syn: bitter scolding or harangue; invective; denunciation
Ant: praise; recommendation
Usage: Then there was an endless diatribe by his wife on why he should quit smoking.
DICHOTOMY (n) [dahy-KOT-uh-mee]
Syn: split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones)
Ant: unity
Usage: There is often a dichotomy between politicians’ words and their deeds.
DIDACTIC (adj) [dahy-DAK-tik]
Syn: teaching; instructional
Usage: Nick has always been academically inclined so his didactic achievements were no surprise to his family.
DIFFIDENCE (n) [DIF-i-duh ns]
Syn: shyness; lack of confidence
Ant: audacity; arrogance; confidence
Usage: To alleviate the young boy’s shyness and diffidence, George talked to him gently about books, music and other subjects which might draw the boy’s attention.
DIFFUSION (n) [di-FYOO-zhuh n]
Syn: wordiness; spreading in all directions like a gas
Ant: concentration
Usage: The diffusion of the chemical slowly through the liquid in the beaker was interesting to watch.
DIGRESSION (n) [di-GRESH-uh n]
Syn: wandering away from the subject
Ant: directness; straightness
Usage: The digression of the speaker every now and then from the subject of the lecture was getting tiresome.
DILETTANTE (n) [DIL-i-tahnt]
Syn: aimless follower of the arts; amateur; dabbler
Ant: connoisseur
Usage: Nora is but a dilettante; she needs to learn so much more.
DIORAMA (n) [dahy-uh-RAM-uh]
Syn: life-size, three-dimensional scene from nature or history
Usage: At the exhibition hall, this weekend, there is a diorama of wildlife.
DIRGE (n) [durj]
Syn: sad song
Usage: The ladies of the dead tribesman’s family wailed loudly in a dirge.
DISAPPROBATION (n) [dis-ap-ruh-BEY-shuh n]
Syn: disapproval; condemnation
Ant: approval
Usage: Disapprobation was strongly written on his face when he read the letter he’d seized from his daughter’s fist.
DISCERNIBLE (adj) [di-SUR-nuh-buh l]
Syn: distinguishable; perceivable
Ant: indiscernible; invisible; impalpable; obscure; minute
Usage: He spoke so softly that his response was barely discernible.
DISCOMBOBULATED (adj) [dis-kuh m BOB-yuh-leyt id]
Syn: confused; discomposed
Ant: lucid; clear
Usage: The staff of the local county office was discombobulated and upset by the sudden unexpected arrival of the administration officials.
DISCORDANT (adj) [dis-KAWR-dnt]
Syn: not harmonious; conflicting
Ant: harmonious
Usage: In the midst of the lovely music suddenly some discordant tunes were heard, very jarring to the ears.
DISCREPANCY (n) [di-SKREP-uh n-see]
Syn: lack of consistency; difference
Ant: agreement consonance; similarity
Usage: There was a huge discrepancy between the original will and the recently prepared one.
DISCRETE (adj) [di-SKREET]
Syn: separate; discontinuous; unconnected
Ant: attached; combined; joined
Usage: Discrete particles hold a great fascination for Mark and he has chosen to conduct extensive research on them for his thesis.
DISCURSIVE (adj) [di-SKUR-siv]
Syn: digressing; rambling
Ant: focusing
Usage: His speech was long and discursive, often digressing from the main subject.
DISGRUNTLE (v) [dis-GRUHN-tl]
Syn: make discontented; disappoint; anger
Ant: appease
Usage: The new computer so disgruntled and dissatisfied the man that he decided to return it to the store.
DISINGENUOUS (adj) [dis-in-JEN-yoo-uh s]
Syn: not naive; sophisticated
Ant: naive; ingenuous
Usage: His disingenuous and insincere means of achieving the monthly targets soon came to the notice of the manager and he was dismissed from the job.
DISJUNCTION (n) [dis-JUHNGK-shuhn]
Syn: act or state of separation
Ant: joining; assembly
Usage: Several skills will be developed through experimentation but there will be a disjunction between aspiration and fulfillment.
DISPARAGE (v) [di-SPAR-ij]
Syn: belittle
Ant: tout
Usage: When Isabella further disparaged Michael’s writing by poking fun and mocking several of the passages in the story, Margaret could take it no longer and begged her to stop.
DISPARATE (adj) [DIS-per-it]
Syn: unrelated; incomparable in quality; basically different
Ant: alike; equal; similar
Usage: They are as disparate as fire and ice.
DISPORT (v) [di-SPAWRT]
Syn: amuse
Ant: bore
Usage: The children loved to disport themselves with Lego kits and board games.
DISPUTATIOUS (adj) [dis-pyoo-TEY-shuh s]
Syn: argumentative; fond of arguing
Ant: agreeable
Usage: The scene between the two men was fast turning into a disputatious one, with both of them arguing vehemently and occasionally with violence.
DISSEMINATE (v) [di-SEM-uh-neyt]
Syn: distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds)
Ant: collect; gather
Usage: The news was then disseminated to all parts of the world through the various news channels.
DISSIMULATE (v) [di-SIM-yuh-leyt]
Syn: pretend; conceal by feigning; deceive
Syn: be honest
Usage: The thief deceived and dissimulated his way into a job as a bank teller so he could later empty the vaults.
DISSONANCE (n) [DIS-uh-nuh ns]
Syn: discord
Ant: agreement; concord; harmony
Usage: The dissonance and din were making it difficult for us to hear each other.
DISTRAIT (adj) [di-STREY]
Syn: absent-minded
Ant: focused
Usage: He is in a distrait mood today, preoccupied with something else.
DIURNAL (adj) [dahy-UR-nl]
Syn: daily
Ant: nocturnal; nightly
Usage: Bats are not diurnal creatures; rather they are nocturnal creatures.
DOCKET (n) [DOK-it]
Syn: program, as for trial; book where such entries are made
Usage: The regional docket for the training is not yet ready.
DODDERING (adj) [DOD-er-ing]
Syn: shaky; infirm from old age
Ant: firm; strong
Usage: The doddering old man could hardly be called as an opponent for mighty, powerful Richard.
DOGMATIC (adj) [dawg-MAT-ik]
Syn: opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal
Ant: indecisive; flexible
Usage: Her dogmatic and rigid attitude often annoys the people around her.
DOLT (n) [dohlt]
Syn: stupid person
Ant: genius
Usage: Mike kicked the boy hard saying he was a dolt and an idiot for having made such a terrible error.
DOSSIER (n) [DOS-ee-ey]
Syn: file of documents on a subject
Usage: They had prepared an extensive dossier on the criminal with complete information from his childhood background to his presently known activities.
DOUR (adj) [doo r]
Syn: sullen; stubborn
Ant: happy; pleasant; cheerful
Usage: Nora let out a sad sigh upon seeing Jack’s dour temperament for she had been hoping fervently to find him in a pleasant, cheerful mood.
DRACONIAN (adj) [drey-koh-nee-uhn]
Syn: extremely severe
Ant: lax; lenient
Usage: The Drake opinion took steps toward making the recession remedy less draconian.
DROSS (n) [draws]
Syn: refuse; rubbish; waste matter; worthless impurities
Ant: items of value
Usage: All we could see at the site of the explosion was debris, rubble and dross.
DRUDGERY (n) [DRUHJ-uh-ree]
Syn: menial work
Ant: valuable, interesting work
Usage: For years she endured a life of drudgery to put her son through college.
DUBIOUS (adj) [DOO-bee-uh s]
Syn: questionable; filled with doubt
Ant: unquestionable; definite; positive; sure
Usage: He has risen to the top through dubious means.
DULCET (adj) [DUHL-sit]
Syn: sweet-sounding
Ant: cacophonous
Usage: Together, standing hand in hand on the dais, they sang a dulcet duet and charmed the crowd.
DYSPEPTIC (adj) [dis-PEP-tik]
Syn: suffering from indigestion; crabby; grouchy
Ant: irritable; pleasant; cheerful
Usage: The landlady was upset at having taken in a dyspeptic, bad-tempered tenant, for she feared the other tenants might be disturbed by his presence.
EBB (v) [eb]
Syn: recede; lessen
Ant: flow; increase
Usage: We decided to wait it out till the tide began to ebb.
EBULLIENT (adj) [i-BUHL-yuh nt]
Syn: showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm
Ant: lackluster
Usage: Her ebullient spirits and cheerful mood were contagious; soon the whole group was in a lively mood.
ECCLESIASTIC (adj) [i-klee-zee-AS-tik]
Syn: pertaining to the church
Ant: secular
Usage: The stranger introduced himself as an ecclesiastic scholar and said that he was looking for directions to the local church.
ECOLOGIST (n) [ih-kol-uh-jee]
Syn: a person concerned with the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment
Usage: Many an ecologist gathered at the annual ecological and environmental convention to discuss and share ideas about ways to preserve and conserve nature.
EFFACE (v) [i-FEYS]
Syn: rub out
Ant: restore; revive; portray; delineate; preserve; insert
Usage: The terrorists effaced every sign of civilization in the village, reducing it almost to a ghost town.
EFFEMINATE (adj) [i-FEM-uh-nit]
Syn: having womanly traits
Ant: masculine
Usage: Paul’s effeminate mannerisms and girlish giggles annoyed Jim a great deal but he couldn’t do anything about it.
EFFETE (adj) [i-FEET]
Syn: worn out; exhausted; barren
Ant: energetic; tireless
Usage: The efforts of the team have lately been effete with none of the targets accomplished.
EFFICACY (n) [EF-i-kuh-see]
Syn: power to produce desired effect
Ant: inefficiency; uselessness; futility
Usage: The young woman’s efficacy and diligence impressed me; I decided to give her a year-end promotion.
EFFLUVIUM (n) [i-FLOO-vee-uh m]
Syn: noxious smell
Ant: bouquet; pleasant fragrance
Usage: The room was filled with strong fumes of effluvium and we were compelled to move out.
EFFRONTERY (n) [i-FRUHN-tuh-ree]
Syn: shameless boldness
Ant: diffidence
Usage: The manager was taken aback to see the newly appointed salesman’s effrontery; he certainly hadn’t expected this kind of brash behavior from a newcomer.
EGOISM (n) [EE-goh-iz-uh m]
Syn: excessive interest in one's self; belief that one should be interested in one's self rather than in others
Ant: selflessness
Usage: His pride and egoism will one day bring about his fall.
EGREGIOUS (adj) [i-GREE-juh s]
Syn: notorious; conspicuously bad or shocking
Ant: ordinary
Usage: He is an egregious boast and people take his words with a pinch of salt.
ELEGY (n) [EL-i-jee]
Syn: poem or song expressing lamentation; dirge; epitaph
Ant: celebration
Usage: The poet decided to compose an elegy for his friend’s funeral.
ELICIT (v) [ih-LIS-it]
Syn: evoke; draw out by discussion
Ant: draw in
Usage: No matter what I said, I failed to elicit any kind of response from the child.
ELLIPSIS (n) [i-LIP-sis]
Syn: omission of words understood from a context as in 'if (it is) possible'
Ant: complete expression
Usage: The story was inundated with many an ellipsis causing a disjointed effect leaving sentences as though they were incomplete.
ELLIPTICAL (adj) [i-LIP-ti-kuh l]
Syn: oval; ambiguous, either purposely or because key words have been left out
Ant: square; complete
Usage: She wore an elliptical, conical hat with her golden brown locks tumbling out from the corners.
ELOQUENCE (n) [EL-uh-kwuh ns]
Syn: expressiveness; persuasive speech
Ant: speechlessness
Usage: We sat speechless, amazed and impressed by his eloquence and articulation.
ELYSIAN (adj) [i-LIZH-uh n]
Syn: relating to paradise; blissful
Ant: hellish
Usage: We were secretly ecstatic at the thought of experiencing Elysian pleasures.
EMBARGO (n) [em-BAHR-goh]
Syn: ban on commerce or other activity
Ant: allowance; permit
Usage: Unprepared for the embargo and prohibition, we were left without any supplies for a week, subsisting on whatever little we had at our disposal.
EMBATTLED (adj) [em-BAT-ld]
Syn: (of army, etc) ready for battle; in a state of defense
Ant: peaceful
Usage: An embattled management eventually had to give in to the demands of the workers.
EMBELLISH (v) [em-BEL-ish]
Syn: adorn; ornament
Ant: disfigure; deface; mar
Usage: Her gown was embellished with threaded designs of pure gold.
EMBROIL (v) [em-BROLI]
Syn: throw into confusion; involve in strife; entangle
Ant: extricate
Usage: Karen was embroiled in a nasty controversy when the press got hold of some indiscreet photographs from her youth.
EMETIC (n) [uh-MET-ik]
Syn: substance causing vomiting
Usage: Martha had no idea whatsoever that the liquid would act like an emetic and cause Noel to vomit profusely.
EMOLLIENT (n) [i-MOL-yuh nt]
Syn: soothing or softening remedy
Ant: abrasive substance
Usage: He applied a soothing emollient to the bruise on his arm.
EMPIRICAL (adj) [em-PIR-i-kuh l]
Syn: based on experience; practical
Ant: anecdotal; impractical; conjectural
Usage: The scientists based their conclusion on the empirical evidence from their many experiments.
ENCIPHER (v) [en-SAHY-fer]
Syn: encode
Ant: decode
Usage: The design is derived from the Enigma device, a machine used during World War II to encipher messages.
ENCOMIUM (n) [en-KOH-mee-uh m]
Syn: high praise; eulogy
Ant: condemnation; denunciation; vilification; censure
Usage: The senator was flattered to see the encomium and tributes being lavished upon him.
ENCROACHMENT (n) [en-KROHCH-muh nt]
Syn: gradual intrusion
Ant: maintenance of separation
Usage: The government needs to do something about the encroachment of the marshlands.
ENDEMIC (adj) [en-DEM-ik]
Syn: prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or a country
Ant: widespread
Usage: The officials advised Karen to be quarantined in isolation because she had been diagnosed to have an endemic disease.
ENERVATE (v) [EN-er-veyt]
Syn: weaken
Ant: strengthen; energize
Usage: A sleepless night had enervated Jim and made him listless in the morning.
ENFRANCHISE (v) [en-FRAN-chahyz]
Syn: admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote)
Ant: disenfranchise; withdraw citizenship or voting rights
Usage: The group of slaves beamed with gratitude for the white foreigner who had enfranchised them and given back their liberty and dignity.
ENHANCE (v) [en-HANS]
Syn: increase; improve
Ant: decrease; reduce; worsen
Usage: They have decided to enhance the features of the air-conditioning system to make it much more advanced and efficient.
ENIGMA (n) [uh-NIG-muh]
Syn: puzzle; mystery
Ant: known
Usage: Till her last, Sara remained an enigma to her neighbors who could never figure out much about her.
ENNUI (n) [ahn-WEE]
Syn: boredom
Ant: interest
Usage: Boredom and ennui engulfed Sam as he idled about on the little island with nothing at all to do.
ENSCONCE (v) [en-SKONS]
Syn: settle comfortably; hide away
Ant: unveil; uncover
Usage: To their extreme consternation, the man ensconced himself firmly on the boat, saying no one could stop him from journeying with the others.
ENTOMOLOGY (n) [en-tuh-MOL-uh-jee]
Syn: study of insects
Usage: Mr. Gordon was shocked to know that his son had chosen to specialize in entomology because as a child, Paul had always been terrified of insects.
ENTREE (n) [AHN-trey]
Syn: right to enter
Ant: rejection; blackballing
Usage: Only the swankiest and swishiest celebrities would gain entree to the high profile dinner.
ENVIRON (v) [en-VAHY-ruh n]
Syn: enclose; surround
Usage: The course offered by the university did not environ the topics I’d anticipated but rather encompassed a wholly different range.
EON (n) [EE-uh n]
Syn: long period of time; an age
Ant: moment; short period of time
Usage: It was eons since I had stepped into a studio and everything seemed different to me.
EPAULET (n) [EP-uh-let]
Syn: ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform, etc.)
Usage: The sergeant commander’s uniform bore three tasseled epaulets.
EPHEMERAL (adj) [i-FEM-er-uh l]
Syn: short-lived; fleeting
Ant: perpetual; endless; eternal; enduring; permanent
Usage: The pleasure was ephemeral, temporary and not long-lasting or enduring.
EPISODIC (adj) [EP-uh-SOD-ik]
Syn: loosely connected; divided into incidents
Ant: continuous
Usage: The producer suggested that they break the script to formulate an episodic serial with 100 episodes.
EPISTEMOLOGIST (n) [ih-pis-tuh-MOL-uh-jist]
Syn: philosopher who studies the nature of knowledge
Usage: Though qualified as a philosopher, Gia wants to further specialize as an epistemologist and study the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions, foundations, and validity.
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