Words starting with D

211 words.

• dackle To slacken pace; to hesitate.
• daedal Skilful, ingenious, cunning.
• dallop A tuft or clump, especially an unploughed patch amongst fields of corn.
• dancette A zigzag or indented line or figure.
• dandle To move up and down on one's knee or in one's arms, in affectionate play, usually said of a child.
• darkling Dark; growing dark; darkening.
• darrein In the names of legal actions, pleas, writs, etc.: final, last; dernier.
• darshan Hierophany, theophany; being in the presence of the divine or holy (as a person or object).
• daruma A hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of
• dastard A malicious coward; a dishonorable sneak.
• dasturi A commission or duty charged by an agent; a kickback.
• dayspring The beginning of the day, or first appearance of light; the dawn; daybreak.
• daystar The planet Venus as the morning star.
• deambulate To go out walking; to stroll.
• deasil A motion towards the right, in the direction of the hands of a clock or of the apparent motion of th
• deathday The day of a person's death, especially when viewed as being appointed by fate.
• deathful Involving the danger of death; fatal, deadly.
• debacle An event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously, often with humiliating consequences.
• debellate To conquer (someone) in war; to subdue.
• debole The flexible part of the blade near the tip of light swords such as rapiers.
• debouch A narrow outlet from which a body of water pours.
• debruised Surmounted by an ordinary (or something else).
• decacorn A private startup with a valuation of US$10 billion or greater.
• decennalia The festival and religious rituals celebrating a Roman emperor's 10th year of rule.
• decern To decide or determine (a matter disputed or doubtful), with simple object, with infinitive or objec
• decima A tenth, particularly — A tithe or tax of one-tenth (now usually in historical Italian contexts).
• decubation The act of lying down.
• decuman An extraordinarily large billow.
• decumbiture The fact of lying down, specifically of a person due to illness.
• decuple An amount multiplied by ten.
• decussate To form an X or to cross or intersect.
• decussation A crossing or intersection of lines etc. so as to form an X-shape.
• dedecorate To bring to shame; to disgrace.
• dedimus A writ to commission private persons to do some act in place of a judge, such as to examine a witnes
• deech To smear, daub, plaster, or impregnate, especially with dirt which becomes hard and ingrained.
• deemster A judge; one who pronounces sentence or doom.
• defalcate To misappropriate funds; to embezzle.
• defatigate To tire or make weary.
• deferent A duct in the body serving to carry away from, as opposed to an afferent one.
• defix To fix, fasten, or establish.
• degarnish To strip or deprive entirely, as of furniture, ornaments, etc.; to disgarnish.
• deglutition The act or process of swallowing.
• dehort To dissuade.
• deletery Destructive, poisonous
• delibate To taste; to take a sip of.
• delice Delight, pleasure, especially sensual pleasure.
• deligate To bind up; to bandage.
• deliquate To cause (something) to melt away; to consume, to dissolve.
• deliquesce To melt by absorbing water and disappearing.
• deliquiate To melt and become liquid by absorbing water from the air; to deliquesce.
• deluginous Deluge-like; overwhelmingly abundant.
• demersal That lives near the bottom of a body of water.
• demerse To immerse, to submerge (something).
• demijohn A large bottle with a short neck, sometimes with two small handles at the neck, sometimes encased in
• demission Resignation; abdication.
• demiurge The (usually benevolent) being that created the universe out of primal matter.
• demophobia A phobia, or fear, of crowds, masses, or people.
• demotic Language as spoken or written by the common people.
• demulcent A soothing medication used to relieve pain in inflamed tissues.
• denotate To mark off; to denote.
• denticulate Finely dentate, as a leaf edge; bearing many small toothlike structures.
• dentigerous Bearing teeth or tooth-like structures; of or pertaining to tissue from which teeth develop.
• deoculate To remove the eyes or their equivalent from (someone).
• deodand An object forfeited to the state (and supposedly to God) because it had caused the death of a person
• deonym A term which derives from a proper name (proper noun), such as brand name (genericized trademark), a
• depatriate To withdraw, or cause to withdraw, from one's country; to banish or expatriate.
• deplume To strip of feathers or plumage.
• deprehend To take unawares or by surprise; to catch or seize (a criminal etc.) in the act.
• dequantitate To reduce the quantity of.
• deracinate To pull up by the roots; to uproot; to extirpate.
• deraign To prove or refute, especially through combat.
• derbendci The guards charged with maintaining and defending a derbend in exchange for tax relief.
• derecho A windstorm characterized by strong, straight-line winds.
• derny A motorized bicycle for paced cycling events such as keirin.
• desecate To cut, as with a scythe; to mow.
• deshret A red crown of Ancient Egypt symbolizing control over Lower Egypt.
• desiderate To miss; to feel the absence of; to long for.
• desinential consisting of desinences or grammatical endings; terminal
• despect To hold in contempt, to despise, to look down on, to scorn.
• desquamation The shedding of the outer layers of the skin.
• dessiatina A Russian measure of land, roughly 1.1 hectares.
• desuetude The state when something (for example, a custom or a law) is no longer observed nor practised; disus
• deturpate To defile; to disfigure.
• deuteragonist A secondary character; specifically, the second most important character (after the protagonist).
• deuterogamy A second marriage, after the death of the first husband or wife; in distinction from bigamy, as defi
• devastavit Waste or misapplication of the assets of a deceased person by an executor or administrator; devastat
• devexity A bending downward; declivity.
• devoir Duty, business; something that one must do.
• devotchka A girl, especially one of Russian descent.
• dewlap The pendulous skin under the neck of an ox, or a similar feature on any other animal.
• dextrorse Growing in a pattern that spirals clockwise around a central support; turning to the right when grow
• diaeresis A separation of one syllable (especially a vowel which is a diphthong, that is, beginning with one s
• diagonalism The coming together of antagonistic groups around one issue on which they find common ground, for in
• diapente The interval of the fifth or the harmonic ratio 3:2.
• diastema A gap or space between two adjacent teeth, especially the upper front incisors (in humans).
• dicastery A ministry or department of the Roman Curia of the Holy See, whether administrative or ecclesiastica
• difficile Hard to work with; stubborn.
• difform irregular in form; not uniform; anomalous or dissimilar
• dighi A large and deep, often man-made, pond.
• dight Adorned, decorated, or furnished (with); dressed, arrayed, or decked out.
• digladiate To fight like gladiators; to contend or dispute violently.
• diglossia The coexistence in a given population of two closely related native languages or dialects, one of wh
• digne worthy; honourable; deserving; suitable.
• dilogy Ambiguous or equivocal speech or discourse.
• dimidiate Divided into two (equal) halves.
• dingbat A silly, crazy or stupid person.
• dinkus A small drawing or artwork used for decoration in a magazine or periodical.
• diota A vase or drinking cup with two handles.
• diplomatics The science of authenticating, dating, and interpreting old official documents.
• diptote A noun which has only two cases.
• dirempt Distinct; separate; secrete; divided.
• dirigent Something that or someone who directs; a director or guide.
• dirigisme A policy of strong state control over the economy and related social matters.
• disanthropy A misanthropic desire for a world without human life, expressed in literature.
• discind To divide or split (something).
• disclude To disclose, make known.
• discombobulate To throw into a state of confusion; to befuddle or perplex.
• discomfit To embarrass (someone) greatly; to confuse; to perplex; to disconcert.
• discommon To deprive of the privilege of citizenship of a town or city.
• discruciate To torture (someone); to excruciate.
• discubitory leaning; fitted for a reclining posture
• disculpate To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exonerate.
• discutient Serving to disperse morbid matter; discussive.
• disembogue To come out into the open sea from a river etc.
• diseuse A female artiste who is a skilled and professional reciter of monologues.
• disgregate To disperse; to scatter.
• disinfographic An infographic that shows false or misleading information.
• dismalite The carnivorous larva of the gnat Orfelia fultoni, which emits bright, blue light via bioluminescenc
• disme A dime minted in 1792.
• disnatured Deprived or destitute of natural feelings; unnatural.
• displacency Lack of complacency or gratification; displeasure or dislike.
• displode To burst with a loud bang; to explode.
• disport Anything which diverts one from serious matters; a game, a pastime, a sport.
• disquaire A disc jockey, especially one in a French-speaking country.
• dissensus Disagreement, especially when widespread.
• dissilient Forcefully breaking apart or bursting open (or primed to do so); dehiscing explosively.
• dissimulate To practise deception by concealment or omission, or by feigning a false appearance; to dissemble.
• disworship A deprivation of honour or cause of disgrace.
• dithyramb A raucous and ardent choral hymn sung in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus.
• diversivolent Desiring difference or argument.
• dizen To dress with flax for spinning.
• djellaba A loose-fitting, ankle-length hooded robe worn by men in North Africa.
• docetism The belief that Jesus was fully divine and only appeared or pretended to be human and to suffer.
• dochmius A metrical foot of five syllables used in Greek tragedy for highly anguished scenes. The metrical pa
• docity Docility; quickness of comprehension.
• doctrix A female doctor, chiefly a physician.
• doculect The lect (language variety) of a particular document.
• dodman Any shellfish which casts its shell, such as a lobster.
• dogsbody A person who does menial work, a servant.
• dogtooth An ornament common in Gothic architecture, consisting of pointed projections resembling teeth.
• dohyo The ring, made of compacted clay, in which a sumo wrestling match is held.
• dolose Deceitful, with hidden malice.
• dolour Anguish, grief, misery, or sorrow.
• dolus Evil intent: malice or fraud.
• domestique A cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team's designated leaders (for example,
• domicide The deliberate destruction of a home or homes.
• domopolitics The governance of a polity as if it were a home.
• dompt To bring (something) under control; to overcome, to subdue.
• doney girl, sweetheart, darling, young woman, woman
• donjon The fortified tower and main residence of a motte or early castle; a keep.
• donnybrook A brawl or fracas; a scene of chaos.
• dooblydoo The description under a YouTube video that includes information and links to relevant material.
• doomsman One who renders judgement (e.g. a judge, magistrate, or arbiter); an umpire.
• doona A padded blanket used as a cover in bed; a duvet.
• doosra A type of ball, bowled by an off-spin bowler, that, unlike a normal off break, spins from leg to off
• dossard A bib attached to the back of a cyclist's shirt that carries the cyclist's race number.
• dotard An old person with impaired intellect; a senile person; one in their dotage.
• dottle A plug or tap of a vessel.
• douar A camp or village of tents in a North African country.
• doublethink The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously and accepting both of th
• douce Sweet; nice; pleasant.
• douceur Sweetness of manner: agreeableness, gentleness.
• douleia In Roman Catholicism, the inferior veneration accorded to saints and angels.
• douth Virtue; excellence; atheldom; nobility; power; riches.
• douzaine A parish council, consisting of a dean and twelve douzeniers.
• douzeper One of the legendary “twelve peers” or renowned warriors of Charlemagne, the Emperor of the Romans f
• dowie Dull, dreary; melancholy.
• dowle feathery or woolly down; filament of a feather
• downbear To bear, bring or carry down.
• drawth The act or process of drawing; a pull; draught.
• dreich Extending for a long distance or time, especially when tedious or wearisome; long-drawn-out, protrac
• dreidel A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש
• dright A multitude; army; host.
• drighten A lord; ruler; sovereign; chief; leader; prince.
• droil A drudge; a minion or servile worker.
• droke A narrow valley with steep sides, sometimes with a stream.
• dromos An avenue, especially in Ancient Greece.
• dubia A set of questions on doctrine sent by Catholic bishops to the Holy See.
• dubiosity The state or characteristic of being dubious; a dubious assertion.
• ducket An aviary or other enclosure for keeping domesticated pigeons; a dovecote.
• duckspeak Thoughtless or formulaic speech.
• duende A small, mischievous humanoid creature in Iberian (Spanish/Portuguese), Latin American, and Philippi
• duenna A chaperon of a young lady, usually an older woman.
• dulcity Sweetness (literal and figurative).
• dulcorate To sweeten (literal or figurative).
• dulcour Sweetness, agreeability, pleasantness; dulcitude, dulcity; suavitude, suavity.
• dunder The lees or dregs of cane juice, used in the distillation of rum.
• dunsel Something (especially part of a vessel) that is useless, or superfluous or unnecessary.
• duodecade A period of twelve years.
• duodecennial Consisting of twelve years, occurring in 12-year cycles.
• duodecimvirate A group of twelve people, especially (politics) a council of twelve men sharing office or rule, part
• duopsony An economic condition in which two buyers exert control over the market price of a commodity.
• durbar A ceremonial gathering held by a ruler in India.
• durwan A live-in doorkeeper, especially in an apartment building.
• durzi A tailor, especially a personal one.
• dveykut Intense devotion or piety.
• dvornik A doorman, porter, janitor, or groundskeeper in a Russian household
• dweomercraft Magic; magical arts; jugglery.
• dwimmer Magic, magic arts; sorcery; spell; occult art.
• dwine To wither, decline, pine away.
• dybbuk A malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.