📖 D — The English dictionary · page 12

deficient — Everyday, meaning 1: Not having enough of something that is needed, especially in the body or diet: «deficient in iron».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Not good enough; having weaknesses or faults: «deficient skills».↗ Example: Her diet was deficient in iron, so she felt tired.↗ · Sailors long ago got ill from food deficient in vitamin C.↗ · The soil is deficient in nitrogen, so the plants are yellow.↗ · The report found the old bridge was deficient and unsafe.↗ · He was deficient in sleep after the long trip.↗ · (formal) The candidate's answer was deficient in detail.↗ · The Russian peasant is by no means deficient in humor, a fact of which the Skazkas offer abundant evidence.↗

deficit — Everyday, meaning 1: An amount by which something is too small: how much is missing compared with what is needed.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (money) The amount by which money spent is more than money coming in.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (sport) The number of points or goals a team is behind.↗ Example: We needed 30 chairs but had only 24, a deficit of six.↗ · The club has a deficit, so it must raise money.↗ · The government's budget deficit grew this year.↗ · Our team overcame a three-goal deficit to win.↗ · After the late night I had a sleep deficit.↗ · The school fair helped make up the deficit.↗ · There is a deficit of rain this summer.↗

defile — Everyday, meaning 1: (noun) A defile is a narrow path or valley between high rocks or hills, where only a few can pass at a time.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (verb, old use) To defile something is to make it dirty or spoil it so it cannot be used.↗ Early Modern English, meaning 1: To make something impure or dirty; as a noun, a narrow path between hills.↗ Example: The army marched through the defile in single file.↗ · The road ran through a narrow defile between two cliffs.↗ · Do not defile the spring with rubbish.↗ · And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.↗ (Torah LEV.18.20, JPS 1917)↗ · He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.↗ (Torah LEV.21.4, JPS 1917)↗ · neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; (Torah LEV.21.11, JPS 1917)↗ · I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?↗ (Writings SNG.5.3, JPS 1917)↗ · But thou art man, and not God, in the hand of them that defile thee.↗ (Prophets EZK.28.9, JPS 1917)↗ · But they set their abominations in the house whereupon My name is called, to defile it.↗ (Prophets JER.32.34, JPS 1917)↗ · And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.↗ (Torah LEV.18.20, JPS 1917) · Twenty years later his son Aristomachus consulted an oracle, which promised him victory if he went by way of the defile.↗ (Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome) · He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.↗ (Torah LEV.21.4, JPS 1917)

defiled — In Jewish tradition, meaning 1: Defiled means made dirty, spoiled or unfit to use, often by something nasty.↗ Example: The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.↗ (Torah GEN.34.27, JPS 1917)↗ · This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goeth aside, and is defiled; (Torah NUM.5.29, JPS 1917)↗ · And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be cleared, and shall conceive seed.↗ (Torah NUM.5.28, JPS 1917)↗ · And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way.↗ (Prophets EZK.23.13, JPS 1917)↗ · Thus were they defiled with their works, and went astray in their doings.↗ (Writings PSA.106.39, JPS 1917)↗ · How canst thou say: 'I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim'?↗ (Prophets JER.2.23, JPS 1917)↗ · The harpies defiled the feast with their dirty claws.↗ · The river was defiled by factory waste.↗ · His good name was defiled by the lie.↗

defiledst — Early Modern English, meaning 1: «defiledst» means «you defiled», a form of «defile»: (noun) A defile is a narrow path or valley between high rocks or hills, where only a few can pass at a time.↗ Example: Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it — he went up to my couch.↗ (Torah GEN.49.4, JPS 1917)

define — Everyday, meaning 1: To say exactly what a word or idea means: «Can you define 'habitat'?».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To state or show clearly what something is, its limits or its nature: «The rules define who can enter».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To make the edges or shape of something clear and sharp: «a well-defined outline».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: To be the most important feature of someone or something: «Kindness defines her».↗ Example: Can you define the word «evaporate»?↗ · A triangle is defined as a shape with three straight sides.↗ · The river defines the border between the two countries.↗ · The photo was sharp, with every leaf clearly defined.↗ · In the program, we define a function called «jump».↗ · Her courage defines her.↗ · Don't let one bad test define you.↗

defined — Everyday, meaning 1: Clear and easy to see or understand (a clearly defined edge).↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Having had its meaning stated exactly (a defined term).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (maths) Having a value or meaning according to the rules (Dividing by zero is not defined).↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Past form of define: to say exactly what something means or to show clearly its limits.↗ Example: The word was defined in the glossary.↗ · The edges of the shadow were clearly defined.↗ · In maths, 5 ÷ 0 is not defined.↗ · The rules of the game were well defined.↗ · His muscles were defined after months of training.↗ · She defined «habitat» for the class.↗ · The many delicate forms concealed in summer by luxuriant foliage, were now clearly defined, and looked like glittering lace-work.↗

defining — Everyday, meaning 1: Most important in showing what someone or something is really like: «a defining moment».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (verb) Giving the exact meaning of a word, or setting out the limits of something.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (grammar) A «defining relative clause» gives information that tells you exactly which person or thing is meant.↗ Example: Winning the final was a defining moment for the team.↗ · A defining feature of a triangle is that it has three sides.↗ · We are defining the new words in our vocabulary books.↗ · Kindness is her defining quality.↗ · Defining what a «fair» game means helped end the argument.↗ · In the sentence «The book that I read was long», «that I read» is a defining clause.↗

definite — Everyday, meaning 1: Definite means clear, sure and fixed, with no doubt.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A definite plan, date or answer has been decided.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (grammar) The definite article is the word «the».↗ Example: Is the trip definite, or might it be cancelled?↗ · We need a definite answer by Friday.↗ · There's a definite smell of burning in here!↗ · «The» is called the definite article.↗ · She gave a definite «no».↗ · Nothing is definite yet, but we may move house.↗ · There is a definite improvement in your handwriting.↗ · Unfortunately, the form in which it occurs is mutilated, and we cannot draw any definite conclusion from it.↗ · The Kabalistic principles involved in the reversal of Hebrew letters, and their substitution by others, on definite schemes, should also be studied and borne in mind.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

definitely — Everyday, meaning 1: Definitely means certainly, without any doubt.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Definitely can be used as a strong «yes»: «Are you coming?» — «Definitely!».↗ Example: I will definitely come to your party.↗ · That is definitely the best pizza I have ever had.↗ · «Do you want ice cream?»↗ «Definitely!»↗ · It is definitely going to rain today.↗ · He definitely locked the door — I watched him.↗ · That is definitely not my coat.↗ · A square definitely has four equal sides.↗ · We definitely need more practice before the match.↗ · No one could deny that the dispute had been definitely settled.↗ · The supplemental paragraphs have been printed in modern form by Kalisch ; they identify the several letters of the Heptad more definitely with the planets, days of the week, human attributes and organs of the senses.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

definition — Everyday, meaning 1: A statement of what a word or idea means.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: How clear a picture or sound is (high definition, HD).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Clear shape or outline (muscle definition).↗ Example: Look up the definition in the dictionary.↗ · The definition of a triangle is a shape with three straight sides.↗ · By definition, a square has four right angles.↗ · The TV has high definition.↗ · Write a definition for each key word.↗ · The photo lacked definition; it was blurry.↗ · Tales told of Finn of Cuchulain, and therefore coming under the definition of hero-tales, are found elsewhere told of anonymous or unknown heroes.↗ · For convenience of study I have placed the Notes in a separate form at the end of the work, and I have made a short definition of the subject-matter of each chapter.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

definitive — Everyday, meaning 1: Final and settled, so that nobody can argue with or change it: «a definitive answer».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The best, most complete or most trusted version of something: «the definitive guide to sharks».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (stamps) Definitive stamps are the ordinary, long-running stamps, not special issues.↗ Example: We still have no definitive answer to how big the universe is.↗ · This is the definitive guide to British birds.↗ · The test gave definitive proof that the water was safe.↗ · Mum's answer was a definitive «No».↗ · Is this the definitive list of winners?↗ · The scientists said the result was exciting but not definitive.↗

deflation — Everyday, meaning 1: Letting the air or gas out of something, so it gets smaller and softer: «the deflation of a tyre».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (economics, money) A general fall in prices in a country over time, the opposite of inflation.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A sudden feeling of disappointment or loss of confidence: «a sense of deflation after the match».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (sport) A cheating scandal in which footballs were said to be under-inflated («Deflategate», USA).↗ Example: The slow deflation of the bouncy castle meant the party was over.↗ · Deflation means prices go down across a whole country.↗ · Japan had years of deflation in the 1990s and 2000s.↗ · After losing the final, the team felt a great deflation.↗ · The bike tyre's deflation was caused by a tiny nail.↗ · Economists worry about deflation as much as about inflation.↗

deflect — Everyday, meaning 1: To deflect something means to make it change direction, especially by hitting it, like a ball bouncing off a player.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To deflect attention, blame or a question means to turn it away from yourself or onto something else.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (science) Light, a ray or a magnet's needle is deflected when it is turned to a new direction.↗ Example: The goalkeeper deflected the ball over the bar.↗ · The shot was deflected off a defender and went in.↗ · A mirror can deflect a beam of light.↗ · The shield deflected the arrow.↗ · He tried to deflect the blame onto his sister.↗ · She deflected the question by talking about the weather.↗ · The magnet deflected the compass needle.↗

deflection — Everyday, meaning 1: A change in direction when something bounces off or is pushed sideways: «The ball went in off a deflection».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (science) The amount something bends or moves aside under a force, such as a beam under a load or a needle on a meter: «the deflection of the compass needle».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Turning attention, blame or a question away from yourself onto something else: «His joke was just a deflection».↗ Example: The goal came from a lucky deflection off a defender.↗ · The magnet caused a deflection of the compass needle.↗ · We measured the deflection of the ruler when we hung weights on it.↗ · When asked about the broken vase, his answer was a clear deflection.↗ · Without that deflection the shot would have missed.↗ · The deflection of light by a prism splits it into colours.↗

deforestation — Everyday, meaning 1: Deforestation is the cutting down or burning of large areas of forest, so the trees are gone and the land is used for something else.↗ Example: Deforestation destroys the homes of orangutans.↗ · The Amazon rainforest is shrinking because of deforestation.↗ · Deforestation adds carbon dioxide to the air.↗ · After deforestation, rain washes the soil away.↗ · Our class wrote letters about stopping deforestation.↗ · Planting trees helps undo deforestation.↗

deform — Everyday, meaning 1: To change the normal shape of something, often by bending, squashing or stretching it: «Heat deformed the plastic».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (of a body part) To grow or be made into an unusual shape, for example by illness or injury.↗ Example: The plastic bottle deformed in the hot car.↗ · Squeezing the ball deforms it, but it springs back.↗ · The bridge was built not to deform under heavy lorries.↗ · Rocks deform into folds when plates push together.↗ · The clay deforms easily when you press it.↗ · Too much weight will deform the shelf.↗

deformation — Everyday, meaning 1: Deformation is a change in the shape of something, for example when it is bent, squashed or stretched.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A deformation is a part of something that has become the wrong shape.↗ Example: Squeezing a sponge causes deformation.↗ · The car's bumper showed deformation after the crash.↗ · A spring returns to its shape after deformation.↗ · The heat caused deformation of the plastic bottle.↗ · Great forces cause the deformation of rock layers into folds.↗ · We measured the deformation of the elastic band with different weights.↗

deformed — Everyday, meaning 1: Deformed means having a shape that has been changed or twisted, so it is not the usual or proper shape.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To deform something (verb) is to change its shape by force or heat.↗ Example: The plastic ruler was deformed by the heat.↗ · The car's door was deformed in the crash.↗ · Too much force deformed the spring, and it didn't spring back.↗ · The old tree had a deformed, twisted trunk.↗ · The fruit was deformed but still tasted good.↗ · Never call a person deformed — it is hurtful.↗ · Unlike the other Greek divinities, he was ugly and deformed, being awkward in his movements, and limping in his gait.↗