📖 D — The English dictionary · page 9

declared — Everyday, meaning 1: Declared is the past form of «declare»: said clearly, firmly or officially.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: As an adjective, declared means stated publicly, openly (a declared aim, a declared winner).↗ Example: She was declared the winner of the spelling bee.↗ · The king declared war on his neighbour.↗ · The new bridge was declared open.↗ · «That's mine!» he declared.↗ · The doctor declared him fit to play.↗ · Their declared aim was to plant a thousand trees.↗ · The game was declared a draw.↗ · “I do not understand this,” Finnian declared roundly.↗ · And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the LORD.↗ (Torah LEV.23.44, JPS 1917)↗ · And they put him in ward, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.↗ (Torah NUM.15.34, JPS 1917)↗ · And they put him in ward, that it might be declared unto them at the mouth of the LORD.↗ (Torah LEV.24.12, JPS 1917)↗ · The heavens declared His righteousness, and all the peoples saw His glory.↗ (Writings PSA.97.6, JPS 1917)↗ · Shall Thy mercy be declared in the grave? or Thy faithfulness in destruction?↗ (Writings PSA.88.12, JPS 1917)↗ · Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; which among them hath declared these things?↗ (Prophets ISA.48.14, JPS 1917)↗

decline — Everyday, meaning 1: To decline is to say no politely to an offer or invitation.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To decline is to become smaller, fewer or worse.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A decline is a fall in amount, number or quality.↗ Example: She politely declined the offer of a second cake.↗ · The number of hedgehogs has declined.↗ · The graph shows a decline in sales after March.↗ · Grandpa's health declined over the winter.↗ · He declined to answer the question.↗ · The town fell into decline when the factory shut.↗ · Thank you, but I must decline.↗ · The Soldier drank, but only moderately, and declined to drink any more.↗ · Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy path; (Writings PSA.44.19, JPS 1917)↗ · Get wisdom, get understanding; forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth; (Writings PRO.4.5, JPS 1917)↗ · Let not thy heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.↗ (Writings PRO.7.25, JPS 1917)↗

declivity — Everyday, meaning 1: A declivity is a slope going down, a downward slant of the ground, such as a hill or a bank.↗ Example: They climbed down the steep declivity to the lake.↗ · The road ran along the declivity.↗ · The sheep ran down the declivity.↗

decode — Everyday, meaning 1: To decode a secret message or code is to change it back into normal words so you can understand it.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In reading, to decode a word is to work it out by turning letters into their sounds and blending them.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To decode something is to understand a hidden meaning, like a strange look or difficult instructions.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In computing, to decode is to change data back into sound, pictures or text.↗ Example: Use the key to decode the secret message.↗ · Young readers decode words by sounding them out.↗ · Alan Turing's team helped decode enemy messages.↗ · If A = 1 and B = 2, decode 3-1-20.↗ · I could not decode my brother's messy handwriting.↗ · The TV decodes the signal into pictures.↗ · Can you decode what Mum's look meant?↗

decoding — Everyday, meaning 1: Decoding means turning a secret code or message back into normal words so it can be read.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In reading, decoding is sounding out letters to work out what a written word says.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: In computing, decoding means changing data from one form into one people or machines can use, like turning a file into a video.↗ Example: Decoding new words gets easier with practice.↗ · The spies were decoding the secret message all night.↗ · Alan Turing's team worked on decoding enemy codes.↗ · We used a key to decoding the pirate's map.↗ · My little brother is good at decoding but slower at understanding.↗ · The computer is decoding the video so it can play.↗ · Decoding the number puzzle took us twenty minutes.↗

decompose — Everyday, meaning 1: To rot or break down slowly, as dead plants and animals do, with help from bacteria, fungi and small creatures.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (science) To break a substance into simpler parts or chemicals.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (maths) To break a number or shape into smaller parts to make it easier to work with, such as 47 = 40 + 7.↗ Example: Leaves decompose and turn into soil.↗ · Fungi help dead logs decompose.↗ · A banana peel decomposes faster than a plastic bag.↗ · Decompose 58 into 50 and 8 to add it more easily.↗ · Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose.↗ · Heat can decompose some chemicals into gases.↗ · We watched apples decompose in jars for our experiment.↗

decomposition — Everyday, meaning 1: (science) The natural breaking down of dead plants and animals into simpler things, by bacteria, fungi and worms; rotting.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (maths) Breaking a number or shape into smaller parts (partitioning).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (science) The breaking of a substance into simpler substances by a chemical reaction.↗ Example: Fallen leaves turn into soil by decomposition.↗ · Worms and fungi help decomposition.↗ · Decomposition is faster when it is warm and damp.↗ · Use decomposition: 36 = 30 + 6.↗ · We used decomposition to find the area of the L-shape.↗ · Heating some rocks causes thermal decomposition.↗

decorate — Everyday, meaning 1: To make something look nicer by adding pretty things: decorate the cake with icing.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To paint walls or put up wallpaper in a room (mainly UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To give someone a medal or honour: the soldier was decorated for bravery.↗ Example: We decorated the classroom for the party.↗ · Decorate your cake with sprinkles.↗ · Dad is decorating my bedroom this weekend.↗ · The firefighter was decorated for saving the children.↗ · We decorated eggs with bright paints.↗ · One tin of paint covers 12 square metres, so a wall of 36 square metres needs 3 tins to decorate.↗ · The palace was elegantly decorated for the occasion.↗

decoration — Everyday, meaning 1: Something added to make a thing or place look pretty or special, like balloons, tinsel or ornaments.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The act of decorating.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A medal given as an honour.↗ Example: We put up the decorations for the party.↗ · I made a paper chain decoration.↗ · The cake has a decoration of chocolate stars.↗ · Take the decorations down after the holidays.↗ · Keep paper decorations away from candles.↗ · The soldier received a decoration for bravery.↗ · I looked in, and saw the quaint decorations within.↗

decorative — Everyday, meaning 1: Decorative means used to make something look pretty or attractive, rather than to be useful.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Decorative can also describe someone or something that looks nice but does little work.↗ Example: We drew a decorative border around our poems.↗ · The plates on Nan's wall are only decorative, not for eating off.↗ · Christmas lights are decorative and cheerful.↗ · The cake had decorative icing flowers on top.↗ · The old fireplace is decorative and never used.↗ · Celtic knots are a famous decorative pattern.↗ · The sword on the wall was purely decorative and very blunt.↗

decorator — Everyday, meaning 1: (UK) A person whose job is painting and wallpapering rooms and houses.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Someone who decorates things, like a cake decorator or interior decorator.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (computing) A special code feature that adds behaviour to a function (in languages like Python).↗ Example: We hired a decorator to paint the living room.↗ · The painter and decorator wallpapered my bedroom.↗ · She works as a cake decorator.↗ · Interior decorators choose furniture and colours.↗ · The decorator covered the floor with sheets.↗ · Christmas decorators hung lights everywhere.↗

decoy — Everyday, meaning 1: A decoy is a person or thing used to trick someone and lead them away or into a trap.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A decoy is a model of a bird, such as a wooden duck, used by hunters to attract real birds.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To decoy someone is to trick them in this way.↗ Example: The duck decoy floated on the pond.↗ · The army used inflatable tanks as decoys.↗ · One friend acted as a decoy while the others hid the present.↗ · The mother bird pretended to be hurt as a decoy.↗ · The striker made a decoy run to draw the defender.↗ · The spy was decoyed into a trap.↗ · The bird-trap was quite empty, as he had caught nothing, and he had to kill a pied Partridge, which he had tamed for a decoy.↗

decrease — Everyday, meaning 1: To decrease is to become smaller or fewer in size, number or amount.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To decrease something is to make it smaller or less.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A decrease is a fall in amount or number.↗ Example: Decrease 20 by 5 and you get 15.↗ · The temperature decreased at night.↗ · The number of bees has decreased.↗ · There was a decrease in the price of apples.↗ · Slow down to decrease your speed.↗ · The graph shows a steady decrease.↗ · Sales decreased by half.↗ · As the warmth increased, the Snow Man decreased.↗ · And the waters returned from off the earth continually; and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.↗ (Torah GEN.8.3, JPS 1917)↗ · And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.↗ (Torah GEN.8.5, JPS 1917)↗ · whole number of things, we multiply at each step by a number decreased by a unit " (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗ · He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly, and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.↗ (Writings PSA.107.38, JPS 1917)↗

decree — Everyday, meaning 1: A decree is an official order given by a ruler, a government or a court.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To decree something is to order it officially.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (Bible) In the Bible, Caesar Augustus sent out a decree that everyone must be counted, which is why Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (law) A decree can be a court's decision, as in a divorce decree.↗ Example: The king issued a decree that all dogs must wear bells.↗ · By royal decree, the day was a holiday.↗ · «In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus,» the reader began.↗ · The emperor decreed that a new road should be built.↗ · The court gave its final decree on the divorce.↗ · Mum decreed that there would be no screens at dinner.↗ (humorous)↗ · So he had put forth a decree that whosoever should be able to make her laugh should marry her.↗ · By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.↗ (Writings PRO.8.15, JPS 1917)↗ · And prescribed for it My decree, and set bars and doors, (Writings JOB.38.10, JPS 1917)↗ · I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with all diligence.'↗ (Writings EZR.6.12, JPS 1917)↗

decreed — Everyday, meaning 1: If a ruler or government decreed something, they gave an official order.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (Bible, old) Something decreed is fixed and must happen.↗ Example: The king decreed a holiday for all.↗ · Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone must be counted.↗ · The council decreed that dogs must be on leads.↗ · It was decreed that no one could leave.↗ · The queen decreed a feast.↗ · The emperor decreed that the bridge be built.↗ · So the King had decreed that whoever should succeed in making her laugh should marry her.↗ · Lest they drink, and forget that which is decreed, and pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted.↗ (Writings PRO.31.5, JPS 1917)↗ · After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was assuaged, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.↗ (Writings EST.2.1, JPS 1917)↗ · And I decreed, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.↗ (Writings EZR.4.19, JPS 1917)↗

decrepit — Everyday, meaning 1: Decrepit means old, weak and worn out, often from age or hard use.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Decrepit can describe a building that is falling apart from neglect.↗ Example: The decrepit old fisherman could hardly walk to the shore.↗ · The decrepit cottage had holes in its roof.↗ · The toy car was so decrepit that its wheels fell off.↗

ded — In Jewish tradition, meaning 1: A broken piece of the word "intended," split by a line break in old printing.↗ It is not a word on its own.↗ Example: Although it was inten- ded as a commentary on Sefer Yetzirah I, its author had no con- ception whatever of what the original Sefer Y'etzirah was.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗

dedicate — Everyday, meaning 1: To dedicate something is to give it to a person or purpose, often out of love or respect.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (old use) To dedicate a book is to write someone's name at the front to honour them.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To dedicate yourself is to promise to give your time and effort to something.↗ Example: She dedicated her picture to her grandmother.↗ · The author dedicated the book to her teacher.↗ · He dedicated his whole summer to learning the piano.↗ · Out of the spoil won in battles did they dedicate to repair the house of the LORD.↗ (Writings 1CH.26.27, JPS 1917)↗ · These also did king David dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he dedicated of all the nations which he subdued: (Prophets 2SA.8.11, JPS 1917)↗