declassify |
to remove the security classification, such as "top secret," from (an official document, information, or the like). |
declension |
in grammar, the process of listing systematically the inflected forms of an adjective, a noun, or a pronoun by categories such as case, gender, and number. [3 definitions] |
declination |
a movement, bend, or slope downward. [5 definitions] |
decline |
to refuse in a civil or polite way (to do or to give something). [10 definitions] |
declivity |
a downward or descending slope. (Cf. acclivity.) |
decoct |
to extract a flavor or essence from, by boiling. |
decode |
to convert (a coded message) into ordinary language; decipher. [2 definitions] |
décolletage |
a low neckline, esp. at the front of a woman's garment. [2 definitions] |
décolleté |
of a garment, having a low neckline, esp. at the front. [2 definitions] |
decolonization |
the process or act of freeing a colony or eliminating colonialism. |
decolonize |
to set free (a colony or colonies) from colonial rule. |
decompose |
to break down (a substance) into simpler compounds or component elements. [3 definitions] |
decompose a number |
in mathematics education, to separate a number into its component place values. For example, to decompose the number 231 you would write "200+30+1". |
decompress |
to reduce pressure or compression on. [3 definitions] |
decompression |
the act or process of decompressing or being decompressed, as in deep-sea diving. [2 definitions] |
decompression sickness |
a painful and sometimes fatal condition caused by the formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood, resulting from returning to atmospheric pressure too quickly from deep water or a compression chamber; aeroembolism; bends. |
decongestant |
a medical agent that reduces congestion, as in sinuses or nasal passages. |
deconstruction |
a literary criticism philosophy, introduced in the 1960s, asserting that because words are defined using other words, the meaning of text has no stable reference and therefore cannot have a fixed meaning. [2 definitions] |
decontaminate |
to clear of impurities or dangerous substances; remove contaminants from. [2 definitions] |
decontrol |
to eliminate control over (something), esp. government control; deregulate. [2 definitions] |
décor |
the style, furnishings, or decorative scheme of a room, building, or the like. [2 definitions] |