The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart (4 page)

BOOK: The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart
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“Everything we shut our eyes
to, everything we run away
from, everything we deny,
DENIGRATE or despise, serves
to defeat us in the end.”

Henry Miller, American author
and painter

D

 

dalliance
(DAL-ee-anss), noun

A brief, casual flirtation with or interest in someone or something; the act of tarrying rather than proceeding swiftly and deliberately.

Her DALLIANCE with the pool boy made her husband angry and jealous.

dauntless
(DAWNT-liss), adjective

Fearless, intrepid, and bold.

“For Thought has a pair of
DAUNTLESS
wings.” –
Robert Frost, American poet

debauchery
(deh-BOW-chair-ee), noun

Frequent indulgence in sensual pleasures.

“The geniuses, the mad dreamers, those who speak of DEBAUCHERY in the spirit, they are the condemned of our times.” – Harlan Ellison, American author

debilitate
(dih-BILL-uh-tayt), verb

To make weak or feeble.

Several hours on the polo fields are enough to DEBILITATE even the most robust player.

decimate
(DESS-ih-mate), verb

To reduce something greatly, to the point of wiping it out.

“Every doctor will allow a colleague to DECIMATE a whole countryside sooner than violate the bond of professional etiquette by giving him away.” – George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright

déclassé
(day-klass-AY), adjective

Of a fallen social position or inferior status.

Jean thought her imitation designer bag looked exactly like the real thing, but the other girls in her exclusive private school quickly ridiculed Jean—and her bag—for being DÉCLASSÉ.

decorous
(DEH-kore-us), adjective

Behaving in a manner acceptable to polite society; having good taste and good manners.

“Another week with these DECOROUS drones and I’ll jump out the window,” the young girl complained to her mother of her fellow debutantes.

de facto
(dee-FAK-toe), adjective

Existing in fact.

Although we eschew titles, Sasha clearly is the DE FACTO head of our arts-patronage club.

deflation
(dee-FLAY-shun), noun

A weakened economy in which prices fall because of a decline in consumer spending.

We were pleased to learn that DEFLATION has not harmed sales at Wempe’s on Fifth Avenue, our favorite purveyor of watches.

defunct
(dih-FUNKT), adjective

An institution, object, etc., that has ceased to exist.

“Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some DEFUNCT economist.” – John Maynard Keynes, British economist

deification
(DEE-if-ih-kay-shin), noun

The process of making someone or something into—and worshipping them as—a god.

“Poetry is the
DEIFICATION
of reality.” –
Edith Sitwell, British poet

deleterious
(dell-ih-TEAR-ee-us), adjective

Harmful; damaging.

Smoking has been proven to have a DELETERIOUS effect on one’s health.

delineate
(dih-LINN-ee-ate), verb

To use words to outline or describe with precision an object or person.

With efficiency, Prescott DELINEATED plans for the new wing of his family’s Connecticut beach house.

demagogue
(DEM-ah-gog), noun

A politician who owes his popularity largely to pandering to popular opinion and catering to the wishes of his constituency.

“A DEMAGOGUE is a person with whom we disagree as to which gang should mismanage the country.” – Don Marquis, American journalist and humorist

demiurge
(DEM-ee-urj), noun

A powerful creative force or a creative personality.

After trying a few different professions, Jackson realized that his ability with artifice, combined with his family connections, would make him a marketing DEMIURGE.

demotic
(dih-MAH-tik), adjective

Language used by ordinary people.

Eileen always avoids the DEMOTIC because she does not want to be mistaken for someone from the middle class.

demur
(di-MURR), verb

To make an objection on the grounds of scruples.

“Assent, and you are sane; / DEMUR,—you’re straightway dangerous, / And handled with a chain.” – Emily Dickinson, American poet

denigrate
(DEN-ih-grayt), adjective

Insulting; put down; demean; belittle.

“Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, DENIGRATE or despise, serves to defeat us in the end.” – Henry Miller, American author and painter

dénouement
(day-new-MAH), noun

The conclusion of a complex series of events.

Marjorie was disappointed with the opera because she felt its DÉNOUEMENT left too many loose ends.

deprecate
(DEPP-rih-kate), verb

To express severe disapproval of another’s actions.

“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet
DEPRECATE
agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.” –
Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist and orator

de rigueur
(duh-rih-GUR), adjective

Conforming to current standards of behavior, fashion, style, and etiquette.

A two-carat diamond engagement ring that cost a young man a year’s salary was DE RIGUEUR for proposing to a girl in the 1950s.

derivative
(deh-RIV-uh-tiv), adjective

Copied or adapted from others.

“Only at his maximum does an individual surpass all his DERIVATIVE elements, and become purely himself.” – D. H. Lawrence, British author

descant
(des-KANT), verb

To talk freely and without inhibition.

Eloise is always more than willing to DESCANT concerning her past liaisons.

descry
(dih-SCRY), verb

To make a discovery through careful examination.

With barely more than a casual glance, Amanda was able to DESCRY that the handbag was a knockoff.

desideratum
(deh-sih-deh-RAH-tum), noun

Something that one covets or desires.

Ever since she was an adolescent, Evangeline’s DESIDERATUM has been a first edition of Virginia Woolf’s first novel,
The Voyage Out
.

desultory
(dee-SULL-ter-ee), adjective

Acting without plan or purpose; activity that seems random or haphazard.

“Find time still to be learning somewhat good, and give up being
DESULTORY.” –
Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor

deus ex machina
(DAY-oos-eks-ma-KEEN-uh), noun

An unexpected and fortunate event solving a problem or saving someone from disaster; a stroke of good luck.

The author used a DEUS EX MACHINA to work his way out of the mess he got the characters in toward the end of the novel.

diaphanous
(die-APH-uh-nuss), adjective

Fine and sheer; or, insubstantial and vague.

“To behold the day-break! / The little light fades the immense and DIAPHANOUS shadows, / The air tastes good to my palate.” – Walt Whitman, American poet and humanist

diatribe
(DIE-uh-tribe), noun

A speech railing against injustice; a vehement denunciation.

The editorial was a mean-spirited DIATRIBE against school vouchers written to prevent children from other towns from being sent by bus to Centerville High School.

dichotomy
(die-KOT-uh-me), noun

Division into two parts, especially into two seemingly contradictory parts.

A DICHOTOMY between good and evil is present in every human heart.

didactic
(dye-DAK-tik), adjective

Designed, made, or tailored for purposes of education, self-improvement, or ethical betterment.

“The essential function of art is moral … but a passionate, implicit morality, not DIDACTIC.” – D. H. Lawrence, British author

diffident
(DIFF-ih-dent), adjective

To be uncertain or unsure about a making a decision or taking an action; to lack confidence and boldness.

If you feel DIFFIDENT about driving a Rolls Royce, you can always buy a Bentley.

dilettante
(DILL-ih-tont), noun

A person who studies a subject in a casual fashion, learning the topic for the fun of it rather than to apply it to solve real problems.

Joseph Priestly could be considered a DILETTANTE, and yet his work led to the discovery of oxygen.

disabuse
(diss-uh-BYOOZ), verb

To free oneself or someone else from an incorrect assumption or belief.

We had to DISABUSE Lorraine from her belief that her family connections would immediately make her a member of our group.

discomfit
(diss-KUM-fit), verb

To embarrass someone to the point where they become uncomfortable.

Maggie’s public mispronunciation of the designer’s name at the charity benefit DISCOMFITED her mother.

discursive
(dis-KER-siv), adjective

A manner or style of lecturing in which the speaker jumps back and forth between many topics.

Paul’s DISCURSIVE lectures on American history jumped from century to century, yet it all came together in an understandable and fresh fashion.

disenfranchise
(dis-en-FRAN-chyz), verb

To deny someone a right or privilege; to make someone feel rejected and apart.

“Some states specify felonies that condemn the citizen to DISENFRANCHISEMENT for life.” – Andrew Hacker, American political scientist

dishabille
(dis-uh-BEE-uhl), noun

Casual dress, or a casual manner.

Jensen is such a stickler for proper attire he feels he is in a state of DISHABILLE if he leaves the house without an ascot.

disparage
(dih-SPAIR-ihj), verb

To bring reproach or discredit upon through one’s words or actions.

“Man’s constant need to DISPARAGE woman, to humble her, to deny her equal rights, and to belittle her achievements—all are expressions of his innate envy and fear.” – Elizabeth Gould Davis, American feminist and author

disparate
(dis-PAHR-at), adjective

Describes two or more things that differ greatly from one another and cannot be logically reconciled.

“As if, as if, as if the DISPARATE halves / Of things were waiting in a betrothal known / To none.” – Wallace Stevens, American modernist poet

disport
(dih-SPOHRT), noun

A diversion or amusement; can also be used as a verb, meaning to amuse oneself.

Felicia has turned the act of arguing with the proprietors of her favorite boutiques into a DISPORT.

disseminate
(diss-SEM-in-ate), verb

To distribute something so as to make it available to a large population or area.

The Internet is rapidly replacing newspapers as the primary medium for the DISSEMINATION of news.

dissimulate
(diss-IHM-you-late), verb

To hide one’s feelings from another by using untruths.

“To know how to DISSIMULATE is the knowledge of kings.” – Cardinal Richelieu, French clergyman, noble, and statesman

diurnal
(die-URN-al), adjective

Taking place or being active during daylight hours.

The house staff knows not even to approach Nora’s bedroom door before twilight because she totally rejects a DIURNAL lifestyle.

dogmatic
(DAWG-matt-ick), adjective

A person who adheres rigidly to principles, rules, and beliefs, even when there is ample evidence that doing so may not be the best course of action.

Leroy is DOGMATIC in his assertion that the Maserati Gran Turismo is superior to the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

douceur
(doo-SIR), noun

A bribe or a conciliatory gift.

After Francine’s father refused to buy her another polo pony, he offered her the DOUCEUR of a weekend at an exclusive spa.

doyen/doyenne
(doy-EN), noun

A man or woman who is the senior member of a group, based on rank, age, experience, etc.

Though she is the youngest member of our group, Brittany is our DOYENNE, based on her extensive family connections.

Draconian
(drah-KONE-ee-an), adjective

Strict; mean-spirited; excessively harsh; cruel; punishment or restriction meant to cause misery to those receiving it.

Ophelia was distraught over the DRACONIAN way that her father forced her to stay with her chaperone throughout their vacation on the Greek Isles.

duffer
(DUFF-uhr), noun

An incompetent or ineffectual person.

Maxwell can’t help being a DUFFER. After all, his family has only been wealthy for two generations.

dyslogistic
(diz-luh-JISS-tick), adjective

Showing disapproval or censure.

We gave Elizabeth DYSLOGISTIC glances when she told us she had decided to stop shopping at Cartier.

BOOK: The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart
8.2Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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