The captain gave the order for the despatch of the launch.
His dispatch to the boondocks was long overdue.
DESTINE
She was destined for better things.
They will destine the computer resources to their own programs.
DESTITUTE
He had left her destitute of any means of support.
DESTRUCTIVE
“The colonizing pro c e d u re invo l ved human e n g i n e e ring, and was there f o re d e s t ru c t i ve o f t h e individualistic principle which lies at the heart of the Judaeo-Christian ethic.”
(Paul Johnson, A History of The Modern World)
DETACH
“A lean and dingy man in a flapping overcoat detached himself from the crowd.” (Jonathan Raban, Coasting)
DETECT
“The Eskimo has 100 words for snow — such are the subtleties he detects in its color and tone and depth and temperature.” (Lance Morrow, Time mag.)
67 DESERTION - DETECT D
“Until arsenic became easy to detect in an autopsy, it was a fairly common means of offing one’s enemies.”
(Discover mag.)
DETER
“Do not seek to deter me from my purpose.”
(Johnson, Rasselas)
DETERMINANT
“The environment is the primary determinant of the state of general health of any population.”
(Ivan Illich, Medical Nemesis)
DETERMINE
“ For evil is d e t e rm i n e d (i.e. ordained) a g a i n s t o u r master.” (1 Samson, XXV, 17, The Bible)
“Experts can determine (i.e. figure out) a skeleton’s age by how hard or “ossified” the cartilage has become.”
( Dr. Paul Brand & Philip Ya n c e y, Fe a rfully and Wo n d e rf u l l y Ma d e)
They are determining (i.e. deciding) on an itinerary.
I’m determined (i.e. resolved) to do it right.
“Accidental impulses determine (i.e. direct) us to different paths.” (S. Johnson)
He was determined on learning the truth.
DETRACT
The scar detracted from his handsome features.
DETRIMENT
He supported his workers throughout the Gre a t Depression, to the detriment of his family fortune.
The ceaseless gossip proved a detriment to his peace of mind.
DETRIMENTAL
His past record is detrimental to the party’s future prospects.
DEVELOP
“Once (human brain) cells differentiate and develop into mature neurons, they stop growing.”
(Peter Radetsky, Discover mag., April ‘91) They are both developing into beautiful women.
“The stem cell . . can develop into any kind of blood cell, including red cells, white cells and platelets. Some experts believe it may be able to create whole organs.”
(Brad Evenson, National Post)
All plants will develop under the proper conditions.
DEVIATE
He deviated from his course of action, to indulge a sudden fancy.
DEVOID
My life is devoid of interest.
DEVOLVE
Stress devolves on (or upon) a culture when foreign elements encroach on its values and nature.
DEVOTE
“Huge companies devote great energies to buying and selling one another. The American genius for commerce has discovered a method for generating vast profits without the inconvenience of making anything of value.” (Paul Gray)
DEVOTEE
She was a devotee of the arts all her life.
DICHOTOMY
“The dichotomy between subject and object . . has been the central characteristic of Western thought for the past four centuries.” (Rollo May, The Courage to Create) The astrophysicist is constantly reminded of the dichotomy i n the cosmos o f the known and the unknown.
DICTATE
(N)Follow the dictates of your heart.
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DICTATE
(V)Are you trying to dictate to me?
DIE
(V)They died at the hands of the mob.
He is dying slowly, horribly, by degrees.
“If the rich could hire other people to die for them, the poor would make a wonderful living.” (Jewish proverb)
“ One in three of us will contract cancer; barri n g breakthroughs, one in five will die from this family of related diseases.” (William Boly, Hippocrates mag. 1989)
“More men drown in the Sahara than die of thirst, because of the flash floods from the mountains.”
(Desmond Bagley, Flyaway)
“In the fantasy you die in your own home, of old age, and in character. In reality, in the hospital, death is rarely serene.” (Dr. Perri Klass, Discover mag.)
She died with rare composure.
DIFFER
“Men at most differ as heaven and earth, but women, worst and best, as heaven and hell.” (Tennyson)
“Man is not man in that he resembles (brutes), but in that he differs from them.” (Jowett, Plato)
“I differed (i.e. disagreed) with him in the conclusion he drew.” (Coleridge)
DIFFERENCE
(N)The chef and his employer were having a major difference about something.
There are certainly differences among human races.
“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” (Tom Clancy, via www.ESLCafé.com) Startlingly, the genetic difference between humans and chimpanzees turned out to be less than one percent.
(David Noonan, Discover mag., Oct. ’90)
“T h e d i f f e re n c e i n molecular stru c t u re explains why one type of pure carbon (graphite) is a lubricant, and the other ( i n d u s t rial diamond) an abrasive . ” (The Ec o n o m i s t m a g . )
“It is a mere difference of degree that separates any (surgical) operation from any torture.”
(G.K. Chesterton, Essays)
DIFFERENCE
(V)“Every individual has something that differences it from another.” (Locke, The Oxford Universal Dictionary)
DIFFERENT
“This creature (man) was truly different from all other creatures; because he was a creator as well as a creature.”
(G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man)
“Our advice is to write different from.”
(Fowler, The King’s English)
“How different things appear in Washington than in London.”
Note: As British author Bill Bryson points out in his acclaimed book ‘Mother Tongue’: “Far from being a re g rettable Americanism, “d i f f e rent than has been common in England for centuries and used by such exalted writers as Defoe, Addison, Steele, Di c k e n s , Coleridge and Thackeray.”
DIFFERENTIATE
It was impossible to differentiate between the twins.
“It differentiated Christianity decisively from Judaism.”
(Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity)
This suite by J.S. Bach differentiates into many dance forms.
DIFFICULT
“Arithmetic is difficult for some pupils.”
(World Book Dictionary)
The high cliffs made the castle difficult of access.
“One of the most difficult of our poets.”
(H.T. Buckle, Oxford English Dictionary)
“The chemical bonds between the molecules of liquids continuously shift position, and are therefore difficult to examine . . A molecule changes partners ten billion to a hundred billion times a second.”
(W. Dro s t - Hansen and J. Lin Singleton, The Sciences m a g . ) The director was very difficult with actors and film crew alike.
DIFFICULTY
We had to acknowledge the difficulty o f achieving the goal.
69 DICTATE - DIFFICULTY D
I found great difficulty in even launching the plan.
DIFFIDENT
He was diffident of even opening the door.
DIFFUSE
“In the forests of the River Amazon, as on the crest of the High Andes, I realized how, from pole to pole, as though animated by a single breath, one life alone is diffused among stones, plants, animals, and in the swelling breath of man.” (Alexander Van Humbolt) The sunlight was diffused by the smog.
The toxic gas was diffusing into the atmosphere.
DIG
(VV)“Clumps of fleshy-leaved Alpine Penny-Cress can reveal where to dig for lead and zinc.” (The Economist) They started digging for gold under the first outcropping.
Many gardeners like to dig in the earth.
The cat’s claws dug into my flesh.
I dug through the rubbish with my bare hands.
Note: As for all VVs, this versatile verb can be followed by a variety of prepositions, whichever best describes the action that follows.
DILATE
It was time to dilate (i.e. enlarge) on (or upon) the objection they faced.
DILIGENCE
Your diligence in caring for your old mother is very commendable.
DILIGENT
You are very diligent in your work until 3 p.m., then you become negligent. Why?
DILUTE
He diluted the rare wine with water, to everyone’s consternation.
DIN
I intend to din that truth in your ears till (or until) I die.
DINE
I dined on sausages and sauerkraut with my friend Albert every Tuesday for nearly ten years, and always at the same restaurant.
Can you believe it? He dined off that pig for weeks after it had saved his life.
DIP
(N)He liked to take a quick dip (i.e. swim) in the lake.
A brief dip (i.e. cursory glance) into this novel will capture your interest.
DIPLOMA
I earned a diploma in marketing after my discharge from the army.
DIRECT
(V)“Pregnant women report that, while in the water with dolphins, they feel blasts of energy directed (i.e. aimed) at their wombs.” (Justine Kaplan, Omni mag.)
Why not direct your efforts into this channel?
Please direct (i.e. address) your questions to the Speaker.
“It is a great mistake to suppose that love unites and unifies men. Love diversifies them, because love is directed (i.e. tends) towards individuality. The thing that really unites men and makes them like to each other is hatred.” (G.K. Chesterton)
He is directing (i.e. leading) his orchestra with great sensitivity this evening.
Note: As for all VVs, this versatile verb can be followed by a variety of prepositions, whichever best describes the action that follows.
DISABLE
Th fireman was disabled (i.e. crippled) by a falling chimney.
That crash into the boards disabled him from (i.e.
rendered him incapable of) ever playing again.
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“Papists, by the Act of Settlement, are disabled (i.e. legally unable) to inherit the Crown.”
(Luttrell, Universal Oxford Dictionary)
DISABUSE
That one remark disabused him of all his theatrical ambitions.
DISADVANTAGEOUS
It would prove disadvantageous for me to join a secret society.
This is obviously disadvantageous to me, as you intended it to be.
DISAGREE
They disagree on many things, but not about their love for each other.
Sorry, but I disagree with you on every point.
DISAGREEMENT
T h e re’s d i s a g re e m e n t o n that subject and a b o u t everything else.
My disagreement with you is profound.
DISAPPEAR
“ Pa rticles of anti-matter . . have one spectacular p ro p e rty: If they ever touch their ord i n a ry twins (particles with a positive charge), both disappear in a blast of energy.” (Tom Waters, Discover mag.)
Any reference to the evidence had disappeared from the files.
The great ship disappeared into the fog.
“In the 4th century A.D., the busy Roman port town of Kourion, on the southern coast of Cyprus, disappeared under the ground, buried by a massive earthquake.”
(Jamie James, Discovery mag.)
DISAPPOINTED
After years of devoted study, the pianist was disappointed (i.e. cheated) of international success.
I couldn’t be more disappointed in you.
They were disappointed with my plan.
DISAPPROVE
“Sir William Osler . . disapproved of people who spoke of the agony of death, maintaining that there was no such thing.” (Dr. Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell)
DISARM
First, let me disarm you of that knife.
DISASSOCIATE
“Paul was anxious to disassociate Christ’s teaching from Judaism.” (Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity)
DISBELIEF
I learned my disbelief in UFOs from my father.
His disbelief of her testimony demoralized her.
“Our belief or disbelief of a thing does not alter the nature of the thing.” (J. Tillotson, Oxford Universal Dictionary)
DISBELIEVE
He plainly disbelieved in ghosts.
DISCARD
(V)The teacher discarded all the compact disks from my locker.
DISCHARGE
(V)I was discharged from the Navy the same day.
DISCONNECT
Would you disconnect that extension from the wall plug now?
DISCOURAGE
She was d i s c o u r a g e d b y a host of happenings to her.
“Science has traditionally been presented in schools as a s t e reotypically male realm that girls are subtly d i s c o u r a g e d f ro m e n t e ri n g . ” (Judith Stone, Di s c ove r m a g . ) You’re discouraging him from ever trying again.
71 DISABUSE - DISCOURAGE D
DISCOVER
“A brain chemical (dynorphin), 200 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times more powerful than any previously known substance of its kind, has been discovered by scientists at Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology in the U.S.”
(Medical News, England/Reader’s Digest)
“All five of the chemical bases for a human gene have been discovered in a meteorite.”
(Cyril Pannamperuma, University of Maryland) I’m discovering in her a real talent for portraiture.
DISCOVERY
“Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.” (Alexander Smith)
DISCREDIT
I have to say it: you’re a discredit to this family.
DISCREDITABLE
She thinks it was discreditable of you to attend that show.
That was very discreditable in a person of your age.
DISCREPANCY
They found a serious discrepancy between what he collected and what he turned over to us.
DISCRIMINATE
“ If tomorrow morning eve ryone woke up looking exactly alike, in features, complexion and stature, by tomorrow a f t e rnoon we would begin d i s c r i m i n a t i n g (i.e. acting with p rejudice) a g a i n s t s o m e o n e o n the basis of posture , g e s t u re and odor. ” ( Sydney Harris, syndicated columnist) Ma n’s eyes can d i s c r i m i n a t e (i.e. distinguish) a m o n g almost 8 million gradations of colour.
King Lear was wrong to d i s c ri m i n a t e (i.e. play favo u r i t e s ) b e t we e n his daughters.
“ Studying literature helps a person to d i s c ri m i n a t e ( i . e . distinguish) good books f ro m poor ones.”
(World Book Di c t i o n a ry )
It is unjust to discriminate (i.e. be partial) in a matter of civil rights.
DISCRIMINATION
There’s a lot of discrimination against Indian merchants here.
Discrimination is rampant amongst that crowd.
Discrimination between the major parties is the law of this land.
DISDAIN
(N)They evinced a disdain for everything foreign.
DISDAINFUL
She was disdainful of me from the time I set foot in her house.
DISEMBARRASS
The politician made strenuous efforts to disembarrass (i.e. detach) himself f ro m any association with the opposition party.
Why don’t you disembarrass (i.e. relieve) him of his parcels.
DISENCHANTMENT
“ Most men live in a state of confusion and disenchantment with their Creator, if they believe in him at all.” (The Economist)
DISENGAGE
She disengages from one cult only to join another.