English dictionary — definitions & meanings

deer

noun

A hoofed, often antlered mammal of the family Cervidae, such as a stag, doe, or elk.

deerfield

name

Several places in the United States:

deerflesh

noun

The meat or flesh of a deer; venison.

Deering

name

A surname, and the name of several small towns and communities in the United States.

deets

noun

Informal: details.

def

adjective

Slang: excellent or very good.

deface

verb

To damage or vandalize something, especially a surface, in a visible or conspicuous manner.

defalcate

verb

To misappropriate funds; to embezzle.

defalcation

noun

The act of cancelling part of a claim by deducting a smaller claim which the claimant owes to the defendant.

defalcator

noun

A defaulter or embezzler.

defamation

noun

The act of damaging someone's reputation through false statements, spoken or written.

defamatory

adj

Damaging to someone's reputation, especially if untrue.

defame

verb

To damage someone's reputation by making false or malicious statements about them.

defamed

adjective

Having had one's reputation damaged by false statements.

defatigable

adj

Easily tired or wearied; capable of being fatigued.

default

noun

A preset option or value used automatically when no other choice is made.

DEFCON

noun

A numbered scale used by the US military to indicate its level of alert readiness, from DEFCON 5 (normal) to DEFCON 1 (maximum readiness).

defeat

verb

To beat someone in a fight, contest, or competition.

defeated

adjective

Beaten or overcome; also, feeling hopeless or resigned after a loss.

defeatism

noun

Acceptance of defeat without struggle.

defeatist

adjective

Showing a readiness to accept failure or defeat without much of a fight.

defecate

verb

To empty the bowels; to pass solid waste from the body.

defecation

noun

The act or process of voiding feces from the bowels.

defect

noun

A flaw, fault, or imperfection in something.

defection

noun

The act of abandoning one's country, party, or cause for an opposing one.

defective

adjective

Having a fault or flaw; not working properly.

defector

noun

A person who abandons their country, party, or cause to join an opposing side.

defedation

noun

The process of polluting or making filthy; pollution.

defence

noun

The action of protecting someone or something from attack or harm.

defenceless

adjective

Without protection; unable to defend oneself.

defend

verb

To protect someone or something from attack or harm.

defendant

noun

In a legal case, the person or party being sued or accused.

defended

adjective

Protected, or having had a defence mounted on one's behalf.

defender

noun

A person who protects someone or something, or who argues in support of it.

defending

noun

The act of protecting or arguing in support of someone or something.

defense

noun

The action of protecting someone or something from attack or harm.

defenseless

adjective

Without protection; unable to defend oneself.

defenselessness

noun

The characteristic of being defenseless; vulnerability.

defensible

adj

Capable of being defended against armed attack.

defensive

adjective

Intended to protect against attack or criticism.

defer

verb

To put something off until a later time; to postpone.

deference

noun

Respectful submission to another person's wishes, judgment, or authority.

deferential

adj

Respectful and considerate; showing deference.

deferment

noun

An act or instance of deferring or putting off.

deferral

noun

An act of deferring, a deferment.

deferred

adjective

Postponed to a later time.

DeFi

noun

Financial services such as lending, borrowing and currency exchange, run by software on a blockchain rather than by a bank or broker, so that users deal directly with the programs and with each other.

defiance

noun

Open, bold resistance to authority or opposition.

defiant

adjective

Boldly resisting authority, opposition, or a challenge.

defibrillator

noun

A device that delivers an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal rhythm.

deficiency

noun

A lack or shortage of something necessary, especially for health.

deficient

adjective

Lacking something necessary or sufficient; inadequate.

deficit

noun

A shortfall or lack — an amount by which something falls short of what is needed or expected.

defigure

verb

To delineate, to depict.

defile

verb

To make something dirty, corrupt, or impure, often something considered sacred or pure.

defiled

adj

Made dirty or morally impure.

defilement

noun

The act of defiling.

define

verb

To state clearly what a word, phrase, or symbol means.

defined

adj

Given a clear meaning or precise value.

defining

adj

Central to identifying or distinguishing something; characteristic.

definite

adj

Clearly fixed or limited; not vague.

definitely

adv

Without any doubt; certainly.

definition

noun

A statement explaining what a word or term means.

definitive

adj

Final and conclusive, settling a matter once and for all.

definitively

adv

In a way that settles something conclusively and finally.

deflagration

noun

The act of deflagrating; an intense fire; a conflagration or explosion. Specifically, combustion that spreads subsonically via thermal conduction.

deflate

verb

To let air or gas out of something.

deflated

adj

Emptied of air or gas.

deflation

noun

An act or instance of deflating.

deflect

verb

To cause something to change direction, usually by bouncing or glancing off.

deflected

adj

Made to change direction, typically after glancing off something.

deflection

noun

The act of deflecting, or an instance of something being deflected.

deflector

noun

A device or part that redirects something, such as air, heat, or liquid, away from its original path.

deflexion

noun

Dated spelling of deflection.

deflower

verb

To take the virginity of (somebody), especially a woman or girl.

defocus

verb

To cause (a lens, or a beam of light or particles, etc.) to be out of focus.

deform

adj

Having an unusual and unattractive shape; deformed, misshapen; hence, hideous, ugly.

deformation

noun

The act of deforming, or state of being deformed.

deformed

adj

Abnormally or unnaturally shaped; misshapen.

deformity

noun

An unusual or misshapen feature, especially of the body.

defoul

verb

To trample underfoot.

defragment

verb

To run a process that collects fragments of files and sorts them into contiguous sections on one or more hard disks or hard disk partitions, thus speeding up file management.

defraud

verb

To get money or property from someone through deception.

defray

verb

To pay or discharge (a debt, expense etc.); to meet (the cost of something).

defrayment

noun

The payment of charges, expenses, grants, etc.

defrost

verb

To remove ice or frost from something, such as a freezer or windshield.

deft

adj

Skillful and quick, especially with the hands.

deftness

noun

Skilfulness, being quick in action.

defunct

adj

No longer existing, operating, or in use.

defunkify

verb

To mask or remove the odor from; to deodorize.

defuse

verb

To remove the fuse or detonator from an explosive device.

defusion

noun

The separation of an emotion or behavior-provoking verbal stimulus from the unwanted emotional or behavioral response as part of a therapeutic process. A neologism meant to indicate the reversal of thought-emotion-action fusion.

defuze

verb

Uncommon spelling of defuse.

defy

verb

To openly refuse to obey or comply with something.

defying

adj

Openly resisting or refusing to obey.

degas

verb

To remove dissolved or trapped gas from a liquid or material.

degeneracy

noun

The state of being degenerate (in all senses).

degenerate

adj

Having declined from a former, better state; deteriorated.

degeneration

noun

The process of becoming worse, weaker, or less functional over time.

degenerative

adj

Causing or involving progressive deterioration, especially of the body.

degradation

noun

A lowering in rank, dignity, or reputation.

degrade

verb

To lower someone's dignity or status; to humiliate.

degraded

adj

Reduced in quality, condition, or capability.

degrading

adj

Causing someone to feel humiliated or stripped of dignity.

degree

noun

An academic qualification awarded by a college or university on completion of a course of study.

degust

verb

To taste carefully to fully appreciate something; to savour

degustation

noun

tasting, especially as a form of careful appreciation

dehance

verb

To worsen, to disimprove; to perform the opposite of enhancement upon.

dehex

verb

To remove a hex (a spell, especially an evil spell).

dehydrated

adj

Having had the water removed, especially from food.

dehydration

noun

The process of removing water from something, such as food.

deice

verb

To remove ice from (something).

deific

adj

divine; of or relating to a deity or deities.

deign

verb

To agree to do something considered beneath one's dignity or status.

deinitialize

verb

To release any resources that were allocated to (some object or process) as part of initialization.

deinstallation

noun

The process of deinstalling.

deion

name

A male given name of African-American usage.

deipnophobia

noun

A fear of banquets or dinner parties.

Deirdre

name

A female first name of Irish origin.

deism

noun

A religious philosophy and movement prominent in 17th-18th-century England, France, and what is now the United States which rejected supernatural events such as prophecy and miracles, divine revelation, and holy books or revealed religions that assert such things exist.

deity

noun

A god or goddess.

deityforsaken

adj

godforsaken; particularly bad or terrible.

deja vu

noun

The strange feeling that you have already lived through the present moment before, even though you know you have not.

deject

verb

Make sad or dispirited.

dejected

adjective

Sad and low in spirits, often after a setback or disappointment.

dejection

noun

A state of melancholy or depression; low spirits, the blues.

deke

verb

To fake out an opponent with a quick move, especially in hockey.

del

noun

The mathematical symbol (an inverted delta) used for the gradient, divergence, or curl operator in vector calculus.

Delaney

name

A surname of French origin, also used as a first name for both men and women.

Delano

name

A surname, notably part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's name.

Delaware

name

One of the fifty US states, the first to ratify the Constitution.

delay

noun

A period of waiting before something happens; a hold-up.

delayed

adjective

Happening later than planned or expected.

delaying

noun

The act of putting something off; a stalling action.

Delbert

name

A male first name, more common in earlier generations of American English speakers.

delectable

adjective

Extremely pleasing, especially to taste; delicious.

delection

noun

A feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction.

delegacy

noun

The position or state of being a delegate.

delegate

noun

Someone chosen to represent others, especially at a meeting or conference.

delegation

noun

A group of people sent to represent a larger organization or country.

delenda

noun

Things to be deleted or removed.

delete

verb

To remove or erase something, especially text or digital data.

deleted

adjective

Removed or erased, no longer present in the final version.

deleterious

adjective

Causing harm or damage, especially gradually and to health, an environment or a system.

deletion

noun

An item that has been or will be deleted.

deleverage

verb

To reduce debt by rapidly selling assets.

Delgado

name

A common Spanish-language surname.

Delhi

name

A major city and union territory in northern India, home to the national capital, New Delhi.

deli

noun

A shop selling prepared foods like cold cuts, cheeses, and sandwiches, ready to eat.

Delia

name

A female first name derived from an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis.