English Vocabulary Builder

®   Curtail: shorten, reduce: During the fuel shortage, we must curtail our use of this vital commodity.

®   Daunt: intimidate: Your threats cannot daunt me.

®   Dearth: scarcity: The dearth of skilled labour compelled the employers to open trade schools.

®   Debacle: breaking up, downfall: This debacle in the government can only result in anarchy.

®   Decadence: decay: The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the worthless literature of the period.

®   Decimate: kill, usually one out of ten: We do more to decimate our population in automobile accidents than we do in war.

®   Defalcate: misuse money held in trust: The court punished the broker who defalcated his clients’ funds.

®   Defamation: harming a person’s reputation: Such defamation of character may result in a slander suit.

®   Default: failure to do: As a result of her husband’s failure to appear in court, she was granted a divorce by default.

®   Delete: erase, strike out: If you delete this paragraph, the composition will have more appeal.

®   Delusion: false belief, hallucination: His arguments were sound and convincing but are based on delusion.

®   Demise: death: Upon the demise of the dictator, a bitter dispute about succession to power developed.

®   Deplete: reduce, exhaust: We must wait until we deplete our present stock before we order replacement.

®   Deranged: insane: He was mentally deranged.

®   Derogatory: expressing a low opinion: I resent your derogatory remarks.

®   Detraction: slandering, aspersion: He is offended by your frequent detractions of his ability as a leader.

®   Detriment: harm, damage: Your acceptance of his support will ultimately prove to be a detriment rather than an aid to your cause.

®   Devious: going astray, erratic: Your devious behavior in this matte puzzles me since you are usually direct and straightforward.

No comments:

Post a Comment