| derringer |
a small pistol that can be easily concealed in a pocket. |
| derris |
any of several leguminous plants of the East Indies, whose roots produce the insecticide rotenone. |
| dervish |
someone who belongs to any of several Muslim religious groups noted for their ascetic practices and for dancing and whirling in religious ecstasy. |
| DES |
abbreviation of "diethylstilbestrol," a synthetic estrogen formerly used to treat the symptoms of menopause and to supplement animal feed, but now banned in the United States as carcinogenic. |
| desalinate |
to remove salt from, esp. to make sea water drinkable. |
| desalination |
the process of removing salt from water, esp. for the purpose of making sea water drinkable; desalinization. |
| desalinization |
the process of removing salt from water; desalination. |
| descant |
a secondary, usu. higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. [4 definitions] |
| descend |
to move downward or to a lower position or state. [7 definitions] |
| descendant |
one regarded as the biological offspring of a given ancestor or ancestors. [3 definitions] |
| descendent |
proceeding in a downward direction; descending. [2 definitions] |
| descent |
the act or process of going downward. [4 definitions] |
| describe |
to tell about; give a verbal account of. [2 definitions] |
| description |
the act of describing. [3 definitions] |
| descriptive |
characterized by description. [2 definitions] |
| descry |
to see or make out, esp. something obscured or at a distance. [2 definitions] |
| Desdemona |
in the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello, Othello's wife, whom he murders out of unfounded jealousy. |
| desecrate |
to violate the sacredness of; treat sacrilegiously. |
| desecration |
the act of or an instance of violating the sacredness of something. |
| desegregate |
to eliminate the segregation of races in. [2 definitions] |
| desegregation |
the act, result, or policy of eliminating segregation, esp. of racial or ethnic groups. |