English dictionary — definitions & meanings

decayed

adj

Having rotted or broken down.

decaying

noun

The ongoing process of rotting or gradual deterioration.

decease

noun

Death, departure from life.

deceased

adj

No longer alive; dead — usually said of a person, as a more formal or gentle alternative to "dead."

decedent

noun

A legal term for a person who has died, used mainly in wills, estates, and probate law.

deceit

noun

The act of deliberately misleading someone; a trick or lie meant to fool someone.

deceitful

adj

Deliberately dishonest or misleading; inclined to trick or deceive others.

deceitfulness

noun

The state or quality of being deceitful; duplicity.

deceive

verb

To trick or mislead someone into believing something false.

deceiver

noun

A person who habitually lies to or tricks others.

deceiving

adj

Giving a false or misleading impression.

decelerate

verb

To reduce the velocity of something.

deceleration

noun

The act or process of decelerating.

December

noun

The twelfth and final month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, coming after November.

decenary

adj

Of or related to the number ten, (particularly) as a base of numeration.

decency

noun

The quality of behaving in a way that is morally proper, polite, or respectable.

decennary

adj

Decennial: of or related to a ten-year period.

decennial

noun

Synonym of decade, a ten-year period.

decennium

noun

Synonym of decade: a ten year period.

decent

adj

Morally proper and respectable; showing honesty and fairness.

decently

adv

In a proper, respectable, or fair manner.

decentralized

adjective

Organised so that control, decision-making or data is spread across many independent points rather than held by one central authority.

deception

noun

An action or scheme designed to make someone believe something untrue.

deceptive

adj

Likely to mislead or intended to create a false impression.

deceptively

adv

In a way that creates a false impression — often used to mean something is actually different from how it looks.

deceptiveness

noun

the state or quality of being deceptive

deceptor

noun

A deceiver (weaver of deceptions).

decern

verb

To decide or determine (a matter disputed or doubtful), with simple object, with infinitive or object clause, or intransitive.

decet

noun

A group of ten musicians; a piece of music written for such a group

decharm

verb

To free from a charm, or charm (charisma); to disenchant.

decide

verb

To make a choice or judgment after thinking something over.

decided

adj

Firm and clear in one's opinion; resolute.

decidedly

adv

Very clearly; without doubt.

decider

noun

A person, divinity, or authoritative text which decides.

deciding

adj

Having the power to determine the final outcome of something.

deciduous

adjective

Of a tree or shrub: shedding all its leaves each year, usually in autumn, and growing new ones in spring.

decigrade

noun

An angular measure equal to one tenth of a grade

decim

noun

A tenth, (particularly) a tithe or tax of one-tenth.

decimal

adj

Relating to a number system based on the number ten, or to numbers written with a decimal point.

decimate

verb

To destroy or reduce a large part of something.

decimation

noun

The killing or punishment of every tenth person, usually by lot.

decipher

verb

To work out the meaning of a code, unclear handwriting, or a confusing situation.

decipherer

noun

A person or function that deciphers.

deciphering

noun

The process of working out the meaning of something coded, unclear, or confusing.

decipherment

noun

The analysis of documents written in ancient languages, where the language is unknown, or knowledge of the language has been lost.

decision

noun

A choice or judgment made after considering the options.

decision making

noun

The process of considering options and choosing between them, especially as a skill or as a formal step in how an organisation is run.

decisive

adj

Settling an issue conclusively; producing a clear result.

decisively

adv

In a way that settles something clearly, or with confidence and no hesitation.

decisiveness

noun

The state or quality of being decisive.

deck

noun

A floor-like structure on a ship or the outdoor platform attached to a house.

Deckard

name

A surname, familiar to many through the character Rick Deckard in "Blade Runner".

decked

adj

Decorated or dressed elaborately.

decker

noun

Used in combination to describe something with a certain number of levels, such as a bus or sandwich.

deckhand

noun

A member of the crew of a merchant ship who performs manual labour.

declaim

verb

To recite, e.g., poetry, in a theatrical way; to speak for rhetorical display; to speak pompously, noisily, or theatrically; bemouth; to make an empty speech; to rehearse trite arguments in debate; to rant.

Declan

name

A male first name of Irish origin, borne by an early Irish saint.

declarant

noun

A person who makes a formal declaration or statement

declaration

noun

A formal or official statement or announcement.

declare

verb

To state something formally, publicly, or emphatically.

declared

adj

Openly and formally stated or admitted.

declaring

noun

The act of formally announcing or making something known.

declassify

verb

to remove the classification from; to lift the restrictions on

declension

noun

A falling off, decay or descent.

decline

verb

To become weaker, smaller, or worse over time.

declined

adj

Having sloped or bent downward; having grown weaker.

declining

adj

Becoming weaker, smaller, or worse.

declivity

noun

The downward slope of a curve.

declutter

noun

The act or process of removing clutter; a decluttering.

Deco

noun

Short for Art Deco, a bold decorative style popular in the 1920s and 1930s featuring geometric shapes and rich colors.

decoct

verb

To make an infusion.

decode

verb

To convert something coded or encrypted back into ordinary, understandable form.

decoder

noun

A device or program that converts a coded or scrambled signal back into a usable form.

decoding

noun

The process of converting something (often a message, code, or signal) back into a form that can be understood or used further.

decollate

verb

To separate the copies of a multipart computer printout.

decomp

noun

Informal short form of "decomposition" — organic material breaking down, or a body that has decomposed.

decompactify

verb

To make, or to become less compact

decomplexify

verb

To rid of complexity; to simplify.

decomplicate

verb

To remove complications from.

decompose

verb

To break something down into its separate parts or components.

decomposition

noun

The natural biological breakdown of organic matter, such as into compost.

decompress

verb

To reduce or remove pressure that has built up on something.

decompression

noun

The act or process of relieving pressure.

decondition

verb

To adapt to a less demanding environment than that to which one was previously conditioned.

deconsecrate

verb

To remove the holy or sacred status of a place

deconsolidate

verb

To split something into a number of component parts.

decontamination

noun

The process of removing harmful or dangerous substances from a person, place, or object.

deconversion

noun

Undoing or dissolution of conversion.

deconvert

verb

To undergo a deconversion from a religion, faith or belief or (transitive) to induce (someone) to reject a particular religion, faith, or belief.

decor

noun

The furnishings and style used to decorate a room, building, or set.

decorate

verb

To add ornaments or decorations to something, or to improve the appearance of a room or building.

decorated

adj

Adorned with ornaments or made more attractive with added details.

decorating

noun

The activity of adding decorative touches to a room, building, or object; interior design work.

decoration

noun

The act of making something look more attractive, or an item added purely to embellish it.

decorative

adj

Serving mainly to decorate or add visual appeal, rather than to serve a practical function.

decorator

noun

A person whose job or hobby is decorating rooms or buildings, especially painting and wallpapering.

decore

verb

To decorate; to beautify.

decorous

adj

Marked by behaviour, manners, etc., regarded as proper, tasteful, and in accordance with accepted standards; becoming, seemly.

decorousness

noun

The state or quality of being decorous.

decorum

noun

Polite, appropriate behaviour expected in a particular social setting.

decoupage

noun

An art technique in which paper cutouts (either from magazines etc or specially made) are glued onto the surface of an object and sometimes painted or decorated.

decouple

verb

To unlink; to take apart or come apart.

decoupling

noun

The act or process by which something is decoupled.

decoy

noun

A person, object, or fake animal used to lure someone or something into a trap or into danger.

decrease

verb

To become smaller in amount, size, or degree; or to cause something to become smaller.

decreasing

adj

Becoming smaller or fewer over time.

decree

noun

An official order or law issued by an authority.

decrement

noun

A small quantity removed or lost; one of a series of regular subtractions.

decrepit

adj

Weakened, worn out, or in poor condition, typically from age or long use.

decrepitude

noun

The state of being decrepit or worn out from age or long use.

decrescendo

noun

An instruction to play gradually more softly.

decretory

adj

Pertaining to an authoritative decree or final judgement.

decriminalise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of decriminalize.

decriminalize

verb

To change the laws so something is no longer a crime.

decry

verb

To denounce as harmful.

decrypt

verb

To convert an encrypted or coded message back into readable, plain form.

decryption

noun

The process of converting encrypted data back into its original, readable form.

decumulation

noun

The process of decumulating; in chemistry, any exothermic molecular change that converts a cumulated diene to a conjugated diene.

decuple

noun

An amount multiplied by ten.

decuplet

noun

A group of ten, particularly

Dede

name

A surname.

dedicate

verb

To commit oneself or one's time fully to a particular purpose or cause.

dedicated

adj

Devoted and committed to a task, cause, or person.

dedication

noun

Deep commitment and hard work devoted to a task, cause, or person.

deduce

verb

To work out a conclusion through logical reasoning based on known facts or evidence.

deducible

adj

Capable of being deduced.

deduct

verb

To subtract or take away an amount from a total.

deductible

adj

Able to be subtracted, especially from taxable income.

deduction

noun

An amount subtracted from a total, such as from wages or taxable income.

deductive

adj

Relating to or based on deduction — reasoning from general principles to a specific conclusion.

deductively

adv

In a deductive manner; by using deduction.

deductivism

noun

The use of deductive reasoning.

deductory

adj

deductive; involving deduction

deduplicate

verb

To eliminate redundant duplicate data.

deduster

noun

A piece of cleaning equipment used to separate dust or other fine particles from another material.

Dee

name

A unisex first name, typically short for a longer name starting with D, such as Deborah or Dennis.

deed

noun

An action, especially a notable or significant one.

Deegan

name

A surname of Irish origin.

deejay

noun

A disc jockey — someone who plays and mixes recorded music for an audience.

deem

verb

To regard or judge something as being a certain way, based on one's opinion or assessment.

deemed

verb

Past tense of "deem" — considered or judged to be something.

deen

noun

A Muslim's religion and way of life, especially the practice of Islamic faith in daily conduct.

Deena

name

A female first name.

deep

adj

Extending a long way down from the top or surface.

Deepa

name

A South Asian female given name.

Deepak

name

A male given name common in India, also used as a surname.

deepen

verb

To make or become deeper.

deepening

noun

The process of becoming deeper, more intense, or more serious.

deeply

adverb

To a great or intense degree; very much.

deepness

noun

The state or quality of being deep (either physically or metaphorically)