English dictionary — definitions & meanings

deliberate

adjective

Done on purpose; intentional.

deliberately

adverb

On purpose; intentionally, not by accident.

deliberateness

noun

the state or property of being deliberate.

deliberation

noun

Careful thought and discussion before making a decision.

delible

adj

That which can be deleted or erased.

delicacy

noun

A rare or highly valued food, often specific to a culture.

delicate

adjective

Easily damaged and needing careful handling.

delicately

adverb

In a careful, gentle, or fragile manner.

delicatessen

noun

A shop selling prepared foods such as cured meats, cheeses, and specialty items.

delicious

adjective

Very pleasing to the taste; tasty.

deliciously

adverb

In a way that is delightfully pleasing, especially to taste.

delict

noun

A wrongful act, analogous to a tort in common law.

delight

noun

A feeling of great pleasure or joy.

delighted

adjective

Feeling great pleasure or happiness.

delightedness

noun

The quality of being delighted; great pleasure.

delightful

adjective

Very pleasing; causing enjoyment or satisfaction.

delightfully

adverb

In a way that is very pleasing or enjoyable.

Delilah

name

In the Bible, the woman who betrayed Samson by discovering the secret of his strength.

delimitation

noun

The act of delimiting something.

deline

verb

To sketch out or mark the outline of something; an older word for "delineate".

delineate

verb

To sketch out, draw or trace an outline.

delineation

noun

The act of delineating; depiction.

delinquency

noun

Minor criminal behavior, especially among young people.

delinquent

noun

Someone, especially a young person, who breaks rules or laws.

deliquium

noun

Liquefaction through absorption of moisture from the air.

delirament

noun

A wandering of the mind; a crazy fancy.

delirate

verb

To act, speak or reason in a manner thought insane, to be affected or characterized by delirium; to rave.

delirating

adj

Making one delirious or mad; also, delirious; mad.

deliration

noun

aberration of the mind; delirium

deliriant

noun

A drug or other agent that induces a medical state of frank delirium.

deliriate

verb

To act, speak, or reason in a manner considered insane, deluded, or absurd; to be affected by delirium.

delirifacient

adj

Producing, or tending to produce, delirium.

delirious

adjective

In a confused, disoriented state, often caused by illness or fever.

deliriously

adv

In a delirious manner, or to the point of delirium.

delirium

noun

A sudden state of confusion, disorientation, and sometimes hallucination, often caused by illness, fever, or drugs.

delish

adjective

Delicious; a casual, shortened way of saying so.

delist

verb

To remove from an official register or list.

deliver

verb

To bring or take something to its intended destination.

deliverance

noun

The act of being freed or rescued from danger, captivity, or hardship.

delivered

adjective

Brought to a recipient or destination in the way described.

deliverer

noun

One who delivers.

delivering

noun

The action of bringing or carrying something to its destination.

delivery

noun

The act of bringing goods, mail, or a service to the person receiving them.

dell

noun

A small, deep valley, especially one that is wooded or hollowed out naturally.

Della

name

A female first name that emerged in the nineteenth century, possibly as a short form of Adela or Delia.

Delle

name

A female first name.

DeLorean

noun

A stainless-steel sports car with gullwing doors made by the DeLorean Motor Company, later famous as the time machine in the Back to the Future films.

Delores

name

A female first name, a spelling variant of the Spanish name Dolores.

Delos

name

A small Greek island in the Cyclades, considered sacred in ancient Greek mythology as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.

Delphi

noun

An ancient Greek city famous as the home of a powerful oracle believed to speak with divine authority.

delphinal

adj

Of or relating to a dauphin

Delphine

name

A female first name of French origin, meaning roughly "woman from Delphi".

delta

noun

The fan-shaped area of low, often marshy land where a river splits into channels before reaching the sea.

Deluca

name

A surname of Italian origin, an anglicized form of "De Luca".

delude

verb

To make someone believe something untrue, often about themselves or their situation.

deluded

adjective

Holding a belief that is clearly false, often stubbornly.

deluge

noun

A sudden, heavy flood of water, or an overwhelming rainstorm.

delusion

noun

A firmly held false belief, maintained even against clear evidence.

delusional

adjective

Believing things that are clearly untrue, or relating to such false beliefs.

delusive

adj

Producing delusions.

deluxe

adjective

Of especially high quality, comfort, or luxury, often at a higher price.

delve

verb

To search thoroughly into something, especially information or a topic, in order to learn more.

delving

noun

The act of one who delves.

dem

pron

Nonstandard form of them.

demagogic

adj

Of or pertaining to demagogy or a demagogue.

demagogue

noun

A political leader who wins support by stirring up popular fears, resentments and prejudices rather than by reasoned argument.

demand

noun

In economics, people's desire and ability to buy a particular good or service at a given price.

demanding

adjective

Requiring a lot of effort, skill, or patience.

demarcate

verb

To mark the limits or boundaries of something; to delimit.

demarcation

noun

The act of marking off a boundary or setting a limit, notably by belligerents signing a treaty or ceasefire.

Demarco

name

A surname of Italian origin, a variant spelling of "De Marco".

dematerialize

verb

To disappear by becoming immaterial.

demean

verb

To lower someone's dignity or make them seem less worthy of respect.

demeaning

adjective

Making someone feel humiliated or lowered in dignity.

demeanor

noun

A person's outward behavior and manner, including body language and expression.

demeanour

noun

A person's outward behavior and manner; the British spelling of demeanor.

Demelza

name

A female first name of Cornish origin, popularized by the "Poldark" novels and TV series.

demented

adjective

Affected by dementia, or more informally, behaving in a wild or unhinged way.

dementia

noun

A progressive decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning caused by disease or damage to the brain, beyond what normal aging would cause.

demerger

noun

A partial or complete reversal of a previous merger.

demerit

noun

A quality of being inadequate; a disadvantage, a fault.

Demerol

name

A brand name for the painkiller pethidine (meperidine), an opioid used to relieve moderate to severe pain.

demesne

noun

A lord's chief manor place, with that part of the lands belonging thereto which has not been granted out in tenancy; a house, and the land adjoining, kept for the proprietor's own use.

Demetrius

name

A male given name of Ancient Greek origin, meaning roughly "belonging to Demeter", the Greek goddess of the earth and harvest.

demi

adjective

Half or partial, used as a combining element in compound words.

demiboy

noun

One who identifies as partially, but not completely, male.

demigirl

noun

A person who identifies partly, but not wholly, as a girl or woman, with the rest of their gender being something else or undefined. It is a non-binary identity and applies regardless of the sex a person was assigned at birth.

demigod

noun

A half-god or hero; the offspring of a deity and a mortal.

demilitarise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of demilitarize.

demilitarize

verb

To remove troops from (an area).

DeMille

name

A surname, best known from film director Cecil B. DeMille.

demineralize

verb

To remove minerals or mineral salts from (a liquid, rocks, bones, or teeth).

demise

noun

The end or downfall of something, especially in a gradual or unfortunate way.

demit

verb

To let fall; to depress; to yield.

demiwoman

noun

Someone who identifies as partially, but not completely, female; an adult demigirl.

demo

noun

A short demonstration of how a product or piece of software works.

demobilise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of demobilize.

demobilization

noun

The disorganization or disarming of troops which have previously been mobilized or called into active service; the change from a war footing to a peace footing; the act of demobilizing.

democracy

noun

A system of government in which power belongs to the people, exercised directly or through elected representatives.

democrat

noun

A person who supports and believes in democratic government and values.

democratic

adjective

Relating to or based on the principle that power belongs to the people.

democratically

adverb

In a way that follows the principles of democracy, such as through fair voting or equal say.

democratisation

noun

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of democratization.

democratise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of democratize.

democratism

noun

The principles or spirit of a democracy; the ideology of democracy.

democratization

noun

The introduction of democracy, its functions or principles, to an area or country which did not have democracy previously.

democratize

verb

To make democratic.

demodulation

noun

The inverse of the effect of modulation, or applying a signal to a carrier.

demographic

adjective

Relating to the study of populations and their characteristics.

demographics

noun

Statistical information describing a population, such as age, income, or education level.

demoiselle

noun

A damselfly of the family Calopterygidae.

demolish

verb

To tear down or destroy a building or structure, usually deliberately.

demolition

noun

The act of tearing down a building or other structure.

demon

noun

An evil supernatural being, often associated with hell or wickedness.

demoncrat

noun

A member or supporter of the Democratic Party (with an implication that its members are demonic).

demoniac

adj

Possessed or controlled by a demon.

demoniacal

adj

Pertaining to, characteristic of, or produced by a demon or evil spirit; devilish, demonic, fiendish.

demonic

adjective

Relating to demons or evil spirits.

demonish

adj

Like or characteristic of a demon; demonic.

demonize

verb

To turn into a demon.

demonlike

adj

Resembling a demon in form or action

demonly

adj

Of, relating to, or like a demon; demonic.

demonstrate

verb

To show someone how to do something by performing it.

demonstration

noun

An act of showing or explaining how something works.

demonstrator

noun

One who demonstrates anything, or proves beyond doubt.

demoralise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of demoralize.

demoralize

verb

To destroy the morale of; to dishearten.

demoralized

adjective

Having lost confidence, morale, or hope.

demos

noun

The common people of a state or society, especially in the context of democracy.

demote

verb

To lower the rank or status of.

demotion

noun

A move to a lower rank, position, or level.

demotivate

verb

To decrease the motivation of a person or a group.

demount

verb

To remove from its mounting; to take down from a mounted position.

Dempsey

name

An Irish surname, anglicized from Ó Díomasaigh, meaning "descendant of the proud one."

demur

verb

Chiefly followed by to, and sometimes by at or on: to object or be reluctant; to balk, to take exception.

demure

adjective

Quiet, modest, and reserved in manner.

demurral

noun

The act of demurring.

demurrer

noun

A motion by a party to a legal action for the immediate or summary judgment of the court on the question of whether, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defense, and hence whether the party bringing the motion is required to answer or proceed further.

demystify

verb

To remove the mystery from something; to explain or clarify.

den

noun

A wild animal's shelter, such as a cave or burrow.

Dena

name

A feminine given name, a variant of Dena or Dina.

denali

name

The highest mountain peak in North America (the third most prominent peak after Mount Everest and Aconcagua), located in central Alaska.

denarius

noun

A small silver coin issued both during the Roman Republic and during the Roman Empire, equal to 10 asses or 4 sesterces. Roughly one day’s wage for a skilled worker.

denatured

adj

Having been deprived of its nature, having had its nature changed.

Denby

name

An English surname and place name meaning "settlement of the Danes."

dench

adj

Excellent; impressive; awesome.

Deng

name

A Chinese surname, notably borne by the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

dengue

noun

A tropical viral illness spread by mosquitoes, causing high fever, rash, and severe joint pain.

Denham

name

An English surname and place name, meaning "homestead in a valley."

deniability

noun

The quality of being able to plausibly deny knowledge of or responsibility for something.