Definitions of
sound-alike words: D
- dairy
- having to do with milk and milk products, as in: Our best customer sells dairy products.
- diary
- daily record of events, as in: I kept a diary when the twins were tiny, to help me remember which baby I fed last.
- data
- facts and figures, as in: He designed a survey to collect data about visitors to his Web site.
- datum
- a single fact, as in: We based our measurements on the datum of the boiling point of water. (Note: rarely used outside scientific literature)
- deceased
- dead, as in: I am sorry to report that our hospital records show that your uncle is deceased.
- diseased
- seriously ill: The fact that he was poor and diseased never seemed to affect his wonderful sense of humor.
- decent
- in good taste, as in: Gestures considered decent in one culture may be obscene in another.
- descent
- going downward, as in: His descent from the airplane was much slower after he pulled the cord on his parachute.
- dissent
- disagreement, as in: Of the twelve judges ruling on the case, hers was the only voice of dissent.
- dissidence
- strong disagreement and outright opposition, as in: The government's oppressive policies led to such dissidence that they were ousted in the next election.
- decree
- official decision or order, as in: The decree made all the striking workers return to their jobs.
- degree
- step, grade, or rank, as in: She suffered third-degree burns on her arms rescuing the child.
- decry
- to openly condemn or ridicule, as in: Those who believe in a democratic society decry tyranny in any form.
- descry
- to see or catch sight of, often from a distance, as in: When I descry the island, I'll shout, "Land Ho!"
(9/20/2000: Thank you to Mr. John Callendar, CEO of Sirenic, for suggesting this word pair.)
- deduce
- form an opinion from a solid basis of fact, as in: From the size of these shoeprints, I deduce the intruder was wearing large shoes. (You thought I was going to say had large feet, didn't you?)
- deduct
- subtract, as in: Please deduct this amount from my bill.
- defer
- (1) delay or postpone, as in: We can defer the charges one month.
- (2) yield out of respect, as in: I defer to my colleague's greater experience in this field.
- differ
- disagree, as in: I must differ
with you about the meaning of that word.
- deference
- courteous regard, as in: The young people in that family showed great deference for their elders.
- difference
- distinguishing characteristic, as in: The difference is that my Web sites load faster than before.
- delusion
- mistaken belief of a confused state of mind, as in: He was under the delusion that he could fly.
- allusion
- indirect or casual mention, as in: No one made any allusion to the scandal while she was in the room.
- elusion
- evasion or clever escape, as in: The embezzlers celebrated their elusion of the police a little too soon.
- illusion
- presentation of a false or misleading idea, as in: The magician gave the illusion of sawing the woman in half.
- deposition
- sworn, written statement, as in: Before the start of the trial, each of the witnesses gave a deposition of their testimony.
- disposition
- (1) tendency to react in a certain way, as in: Pollyanna had an especially cheerful disposition.
- (2) final settlement, as in: The disposition of my father's estate took longer than I thought it would.
- depraved
- extreme departure from what is normal and good, as in: Jeffrey Dahmer was a depraved murderer.
- deprived
- take away from, as in: He claimed that, during his childhood, he was deprived of any warmth and affection.
- deprecate
- belittle, as in : Have you noticed that he seems to deprecate himself just so we have to compliment him?
- depreciate
- fall in value or price, as in: A new car will start to depreciate as soon as you drive it off the lot.
- desert
- (1) hot, dry, sandy place, as in: Not all kinds of plants can grow in a desert.
- (2) abandon or forsake, as in: The loyal little dog refused to desert his master.
- dessert
- end of a meal, usually something sweet, as in: I don't think I'll order any dessert today, thank you.
- desolate
- (1) deserted or uninhabited, as in: They washed up on the shore of a desolate island.
- (2) miserable, as in: I am desolate that you believed I could do a thing like that.
- dissolute
- characterized by loose moral standards, as in: The younger son led a dissolute lifestyle before he returned home to his family.
- detract
- take something away from the value or reputation of, as in: Words that are not properly used can detract from a writer's credibility.
- distract
- divert attention from, as in: A blinking graphic on a Web page will distract a reader trying to read text.
- device
- invention, as in: If your device works, I think you should get a patent for it.
- devise
- think up a way to do something new, as in: HTML was devised to tell a Web browser how to show the relative importance of lines of text in a Web document.
- dew
- moisture, as in: It was a beautiful spring morning, and the grass sparkled with dew.
- do
- make, cause, perform, carry out, act, as in: What shall I do to convince them?
- due
- payable, as in: The rent is due the first of every month.
- die
- (1) stop living or existing, as in: The doctor said without an operation the patient would surely die.
- (2) device for shaping, as in: He used to be a
tool-and-die maker before the terrible accident.
- dye
- color, as in: I think I will dye my hair a lighter shade.
- disapprove
- view with disfavor, as in: His parents disapprove of his truancy.
- disprove
- prove to be false, as in: The accused was determined to disprove the charges against him.
- disassemble
- take apart, as in: It was easy to disassemble the clock, but it wasn't so easy to put it back together again.
- dissemble
- disguise or conceal the real nature of, as in: I'd rather be honest about my shortcomings than dissemble or pretend to be something I'm not.
- disburse
- pay out funds, as in: Do you think the foundation
will disburse the funds soon?
- disperse
- scatter, as in: The security guards told the crowd to disperse or face arrest.
- discreet
- prudent, trustworthy, as in: A discreet accountant is a valuable business asset.
- discrete
- separate and distinct, as in: The company is composed of three discrete
units.
- disinterested
- not influenced by personal motives, as in: To mediate this argument, we need a disinterested person.
- uninterested
- unconcerned, as in: I knew she was sick because she was uninterested in
food.
- divers
- various, several, as in: We have provided divers acts for your entertainment.
- diverse
- markedly different or conspicuously contrasting, as in: His hobbies are as diverse as whitewater-rafting and needlepoint.
- done
- completed, as in: Call me when the Web site is done.
- dun
- demand repeatedly, as in: The collection agency went to great lengths to dun him for payment of his debts.
- dyeing
- coloring with dye, as in: She is dyeing her hair to cover the gray.
- dying
- expiring or drawing to an end, as in: We watched the dying embers of the fire.
- (idiom) very anxious, as in: I am dying to know her secret.
This list of definitions can't replace your dictionary. Rather
than discussing every possible meaning of the words on this list,
I try to show how one word differs from another in a group of words that sound or
look very much alike.
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