📖 D — The English dictionary · page 13

deformity — Everyday, meaning 1: A deformity is a part of the body that has an unusual or twisted shape, from birth or after illness or injury.↗ Example: The surgeon corrected the deformity in the baby's foot.↗ · A clubfoot is a deformity that can be treated.↗ · She was born with a hand deformity but plays the piano brilliantly.↗ · The illness left him with a deformity of the spine.↗ · Making fun of someone's deformity is cruel.↗ · Doctors now treat many deformities in early childhood.↗ · Setting aside my ugliness and deformity, is there any thing in me which displeases you?↗ · These are double, because their opposites take part in life, opposed to Life is Death; to Peace, War; to Riches, Poverty; to Beauty or Reputation, Deformity or Disrepute; to Wisdom, Ignorance; to Fruitfulness, Sterility; to Power, Slavery.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887)↗

defraud — Everyday, meaning 1: (law) To trick someone out of money, property or rights by lying or cheating: «He defrauded old people of their savings».↗ Example: The fake charity defrauded people of thousands of pounds.↗ · Scammers try to defraud people with fake prize emails.↗ · The banker was jailed for defrauding his customers.↗ · Never give your card details to strangers who might try to defraud you.↗ · The company was accused of defrauding the government.↗ · He defrauded his grandmother of her savings, which made the whole family sad.↗ · Friar Bacon was defrauded of his labour in producing the Brazen Head in a similar way.↗ · And they said: 'Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand.'↗ (Prophets 1SA.12.4, JPS 1917)↗

defray — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) To pay some or all of the cost of something: «to defray the costs».↗ Example: The bake sale helped defray the cost of the school trip.↗ · (formal) The company will defray all travel expenses.↗ · Parents were asked for two pounds to defray the cost of the coach.↗ · Selling tickets helped defray the expenses of the play.↗ · (formal) A grant was awarded to defray the costs of research.↗ · If they are not claimed in seven days they are sent far away to the Neverland to defray expenses.↗

defrost — Everyday, meaning 1: To let frozen food become unfrozen before cooking or eating: «Defrost the chicken in the fridge».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To remove ice from a freezer, fridge or car windscreen: «We need to defrost the freezer».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To become unfrozen: «The peas will defrost in an hour».↗ Example: Mum took the fish out of the freezer to defrost.↗ · Always defrost meat in the fridge, not on the worktop.↗ · Dad turned the car heater on to defrost the windscreen.↗ · We had to defrost the old freezer because it was full of ice.↗ · Use the defrost setting on the microwave.↗ · Leave the bread to defrost for an hour.↗

defy — Everyday, meaning 1: To defy someone is to refuse openly to obey them.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To defy something, such as a law or danger, is to face it boldly as if it cannot beat you.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To defy someone is also to dare them to do something.↗ Example: I defy you to catch me!↗ · The girl defied her teacher and stayed outside.↗ · The climbers defied the storm and reached the top.↗ · It tends to be used of things that are marvelous, miraculous, or otherwise supernatural and extraordinary, i.e. that which defies the human ability to do or understand and must therefore be divine, e.g. [Deuteronomy 28:59], [Psalm 118:23], [Psalm 139:6].↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗

degenerate — Everyday, meaning 1: (verb) To degenerate is to get worse, falling from a good state into a worse one.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (adjective) Degenerate means having fallen to a lower or worse state than before.↗ Example: The game degenerated into a shouting match.↗ · Over the years the castle degenerated into ruins.↗ · The degenerate creature had lost all its old strength.↗ · Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me?↗ (Prophets JER.2.21, JPS 1917)↗

degrade — Everyday, meaning 1: To make something worse in quality or condition: pollution degrades the soil.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (science) To break down slowly into smaller, simpler parts: plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To treat someone without respect, making them feel worthless: it degrades people to be shouted at.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Something degrading is shameful and makes a person feel less worthy or respected.↗ Example: Plastic bags take a very long time to degrade.↗ · Banana peel degrades quickly in a compost heap.↗ · Pollution has degraded the river.↗ · (formal) Habitat degradation threatens many animals.↗ · It is degrading to laugh at someone who is hurt.↗ · Old photos degrade and fade in sunlight.↗ · “I am the son of the prime minister of a great nation, and yet see what a degrading occupation I am reduced to.”↗

degree — Everyday, meaning 1: A degree is a unit for measuring how hot or cold something is.↗ Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A degree is a unit for measuring the size of an angle.↗ A right angle is 90 degrees.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A degree is what you get when you finish college or university.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: «To some degree» means a bit, partly.↗ Everyday, meaning 5: “By degrees” means gradually, little by little.↗ Example: It was 15 degrees in the morning and 22 degrees at noon.↗ · The temperature fell 6 degrees.↗ · A right angle is 90 degrees.↗ · The angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees.↗ · Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.↗ · Turn 360 degrees to make a full turn.↗ · It is 75 degrees Fahrenheit today.↗ · My sister got a degree in science.↗ · The natives came by degrees to be less fearful of danger from me.↗ · 3) Paths denote powers, effects, kinds, forms, degrees or stages.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877)↗ · C. to denote the absence of degrees, minutes, or seconds in their sexagesi- mal notation.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗ · And Hezekiah answered: 'It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten degrees; nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.'↗ (Prophets 2KI.20.10, JPS 1917)↗ · And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD; and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.↗ (Prophets 2KI.20.11, JPS 1917)↗ · Men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; if they be laid in the balances, they are together lighter than vanity.↗ (Writings PSA.62.10, JPS 1917)↗

dehydrated — Everyday, meaning 1: (of a person or animal) Having lost too much water from the body, so you feel thirsty, tired, dizzy or have a headache.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (of food) Dried, with the water taken out, so it keeps longer: dehydrated fruit, dehydrated soup.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (informal, joke) Very thirsty: «I'm so dehydrated after footy.».↗ Example: Drink plenty of water so you don't get dehydrated.↗ · After running in the heat, he felt dizzy and dehydrated.↗ · The vet said the puppy was dehydrated.↗ · We took dehydrated meals on the camping trip.↗ · Dehydrated apple slices are crunchy.↗ · Signs of being dehydrated include a dry mouth and dark wee.↗ · (informal) Pass the water, I'm totally dehydrated!↗

dehydration — Everyday, meaning 1: Dehydration is when your body does not have enough water, which can make you thirsty, tired, dizzy and give you a headache.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In science and cooking, dehydration is removing water from something, such as drying fruit.↗ Example: Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration on hot days.↗ · The runner was treated for dehydration after the race.↗ · Headaches can be a sign of dehydration.↗ · Raisins are made by the dehydration of grapes.↗ · The lost hikers were suffering from dehydration.↗ · Babies with tummy bugs can get dehydration quickly.↗ · In the Australian outback, dehydration can be dangerous.↗

deign — Everyday, meaning 1: To deign is to agree to do something that you think is beneath your dignity; a grand person may deign to do a small thing (old use).↗ Example: Will the queen deign to visit our school?↗ · He would not deign to answer such a silly question.↗ · Deign to follow me, and you shall have a room.↗

deinonychus — Everyday, meaning 1: A meat-eating dinosaur about 3 metres long that ran on two legs and had a large curved claw on each foot.↗ The name means «terrible claw».↗ Example: Deinonychus had a big curved claw on each foot.↗ · Its name means «terrible claw».↗ · Scientists think Deinonychus had feathers.↗ · Deinonychus lived in North America long before people.↗ · The museum has a Deinonychus skeleton in a running pose.↗ · The raptors in films are partly based on Deinonychus.↗ · Deinonychus was about as long as a car.↗

deity — Everyday, meaning 1: A deity is a god or goddess.↗ Example: Zeus was the chief deity of the Greeks.↗ · The Egyptians had many deities.↗ · Ganesh is a Hindu deity with an elephant head.↗ · The temple was built for a sea deity.↗ · Christians believe there is one God, not many deities.↗ · Thor was a Norse deity of thunder.↗ · The incensed deities now combined to punish the offender.↗ · "The Deity, it is thought by some, was distinguished by the P3'thagoreans as absolute unity, from unity conceived."↗ {A (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗ · Thus, the Sefer Yetzirah may have believed two di- bits, 0 and j , a tilting symbolization of the creation, out of chaos or nothing, of the universe, by the power of the Deity.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗

dejected — Everyday, meaning 1: Sad and without hope, often after a failure or a disappointment; low in spirits.↗ Example: The team walked off the pitch looking dejected.↗ · Toad sat dejected in his prison cell.↗ · She felt dejected when she wasn't picked for the play.↗ · The dejected puppy lay by the door.↗ · After losing the spelling bee he looked dejected.↗ · Mole followed the Rat in a dejected way.↗ · Don't look so dejected, you can try again!↗ · The dejected children walked home in the rain.↗ · A WAYFARING MAN, traveling in the desert, met a woman standing alone and terribly dejected.↗

dejection — Everyday, meaning 1: Dejection is a feeling of sadness and low spirits, with no hope or energy.↗ Example: After losing the match she sat in dejection.↗ · His dejection lifted when his friend came back.↗ · The king's dejection was clear to all his sons.↗

delay — Everyday, meaning 1: A delay is a time when something happens later than planned.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To delay means to make something happen later, or to make someone late.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To delay means to wait before doing something.↗ Example: Our flight had a two-hour delay.↗ · The train was delayed by snow.↗ · Don't delay; do your homework now.↗ · Call for help without delay if someone is hurt.↗ · Sorry for the delay in answering.↗ · The rain delayed the start of the match.↗ · The bus should arrive at 3:00 but has a 15-minute delay, so it arrives at 3:15.↗ · In this way she will be delayed.↗ · Thou shalt not delay to offer of the fulness of thy harvest, and of the outflow of thy presses.↗ (Torah EXO.22.29, JPS 1917)↗ · And he said unto them: 'Delay me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.'↗ (Torah GEN.24.56, JPS 1917)↗ · Distribution was delayed unril this year (1922) by a supplement aiming at a solution of the Pythagorean philosophy.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗ · I made haste, and delayed not, to observe Thy commandments.↗ (Writings PSA.119.60, JPS 1917)↗ · Therefore say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: There shall none of My words be delayed any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord GOD.'↗ (Prophets EZK.12.28, JPS 1917)↗ · For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it declareth of the end, and doth not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.'↗ (Prophets HAB.2.3, JPS 1917)↗

delectable — Everyday, meaning 1: Delectable means very pleasing, especially to the taste or the eye.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (old use) Delectable means lovely and delightful to be in, said of a place.↗ Example: The cake looked delectable.↗ · Neverland is a delectable island full of adventure.↗ · We ate a delectable meal of fish and fruit.↗ · They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.↗ (Prophets ISA.44.9, JPS 1917)↗

delegate — Everyday, meaning 1: (noun) A person chosen to speak, vote or act for a group, especially at a meeting or conference.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (verb) To give part of your work, power or a task to someone else to do for you.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (verb, formal) To choose someone to act for a group.↗ Example: Each class chose one delegate for the school council.↗ · Delegates from many countries met to talk about the oceans.↗ · A good captain knows how to delegate jobs.↗ · Mum delegated the washing-up to me.↗ · The teacher delegated the job of handing out books to Priya.↗ · Our delegate reported back to the class.↗ · The manager delegated the planning to her team.↗

delete — Everyday, meaning 1: To delete means to take away or wipe out something, like a photo, a file or a word.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In writing, to delete is to cross out or remove words.↗ Example: She deleted 12 photos from her phone.↗ · He had 80 songs and deleted 15.↗ · How many emails are left after she deletes 9?↗ · Each day he deletes 5 old messages.↗ · Press delete to remove the letter.↗ · Delete the extra word in the sentence.↗ · Things you post online can be hard to delete.↗ · I have had greater confidence in my young friends, and have deleted the fairy who did not exist in the tale as told to me.↗