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American English Vocabulary - Letter
D
The words on this page came from the VOA, Voice of
America, Special English Word Book.
Use the Fun Easy English
dictionary
for a more detailed explanation of each word. |
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Words - Letter D |
- dam
- n. a wall built across a river to hold back
flowing water
- damage
- v. to cause injury or destruction; n. harm; hurt
or injury, usually to things
- dance
- v. to move the body and feet to music; n. a series
of steps, usually to music
- danger
- n. a strong chance of suffering injury, damage or
loss
- dark
- ad. having little or no light ("The room was
dark.")
- date
- n. an expression of time; a day, month and year
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daughter - n. a person's female child
- day
- n. twenty-four hours; the hours of sunlight
- dead
- ad. not living
- deaf
- ad. not able to hear
- deal
- v. to have to do with ("The talks will deal with
the problem of pollution."); to buy or sell ("Her
company deals in plastic.")
- debate
- v. to argue for or against something; n. a public
discussion or argument
- debt
- n. something that is owed; the condition of owing
- decide
- v. to choose; to settle; to judge
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declare - v. to say; to make a statement
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decrease - v. to make less in size or amount
- deep
- ad. going far down; a long way from top to bottom
- defeat
- v. to cause to lose in a battle or struggle; n. a
loss; the condition of having lost
- defend
- v. to guard or fight against attack; to protect
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deficit - n. a shortage that results when
spending is greater than earnings, or imports are
greater than exports
- define
- v. to give the meaning of; to explain
- degree
- n. a measure of temperature
- delay
- v. to decide to do something at a later time; to
postpone; to cause to be late
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delegate - n. one sent to act for another;
one who represents another
- demand
- v. to ask by ordering; to ask with force
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democracy - n. the system of government in
which citizens vote to choose leaders or to make
other important decisions
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demonstrate - v. to make a public show of
opinions or feelings ("The crowd demonstrated in
support of human rights."); to explain by using
examples ("The teacher demonstrated the idea with an
experiment.")
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denounce - v. to accuse of being wrong or
evil; to criticize severely
- deny
- v. to declare that something is not true; to
refuse a request
- depend
- v. to need help and support
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deplore - v. to regret strongly; to express
sadness
- deploy
- v. to move forces or weapons into positions for
action
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depression - n. severe unhappiness; a period
of reduced business and economic activity during
which many people lose their jobs
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describe - v. to give a word picture of
something; to give details of something
- desert
- n. a dry area of land
- design
- v. to plan or create plans for
- desire
- v. to want very much; to wish for
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destroy - v. to break into pieces; to end the
existence of
- detail
- n. a small part of something; a small piece of
information
- detain
- v. to keep or hold ("The police detained several
suspects for questioning.")
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develop - v. to grow; to create; to
experience progress
- device
- n. a piece of equipment made for a special purpose
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dictator - n. a ruler with complete power
- die
- v. to become dead; to stop living; to end
- diet
- n. usual daily food and drink
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different - ad. not the same
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difficult - ad. not easy; hard to do, make or
carry out
- dig
- v. to make a hole in the ground
- dinner
- n. the main amount of food eaten at a usual time
("The family had its dinner at noon."); a special
event that includes food ("The official dinner took
place at the White House.")
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diplomat - n. a person who represents his or
her government in dealing with another government
- direct
- v. to lead; to aim or show the way ("He directed
me to the theater."); ad. straight to something; not
through some other person or thing ("The path is
direct.")
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direction - n. the way (east, west, north,
south); where someone or something came from or went
to
- dirt
- n. earth or soil
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disappear - v. to become unseen; to no longer
exist
- disarm
- v. to take away weapons; to no longer keep
weapons; to make a bomb harmless by removing its
exploding device
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disaster - n. an event causing widespread
destruction or loss of life, such as an earthquake
or plane crash
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discover - v. to find or learn something
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discrimination - n. unfair treatment or
consideration based on opinions about a whole group
instead of on the qualities of an individual. ("He
was accused of discrimination against people from
other countries.")
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discuss - v. to talk about; to exchange ideas
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disease - n. a sickness in living things,
often caused by viruses, germs or bacteria
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dismiss - v. to send away; to refuse to
consider
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dispute - v. to oppose strongly by argument;
n. an angry debate
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dissident - n. a person who strongly
disagrees with his or her government
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distance - n. the amount of space between two
places or objects ("The distance from my house to
your house is two kilometers.")
- dive
- v. to jump into water head first
- divide
- v. to separate into two or more parts
- do
- v. to act; to make an effort
- doctor
- n. a person trained in medicine to treat sick
people
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document - n. an official piece of paper with
facts written on it, used as proof or support of
something
- dog
- n. a small animal that often lives with humans
- dollar
- n. United States money, one hundred cents
- donate
- v. to present something as a gift to an
organization, country or cause. ("She donated money
to the Red Cross to help survivors of the
earthquake.")
- door
- n. an opening for entering or leaving a building
or room
- double
- v. to increase two times as much in size, strength
or number
- down
- ad. from higher to lower; in a low place
- dream
- v. to have a picture or story in the mind during
sleep; n. a picture or story in the mind during
sleep; a happy idea about the future
- drink
- v. to take liquid into the body through the mouth
- drive
- v. to control a moving vehicle
- drop
- v. to fall or let fall; to go lower
- drown
- v. to die under water
- drug
- n. anything used as a medicine or in making
medicine; a chemical substance used to ease pain or
to affect the mind
- dry
- ad. not wet; without rain
- during
- ad. through the whole time; while (something is
happening)
- dust
- n. pieces of matter so small that they can float
in the air
- duty
- n. one's job or responsibility; what one must do
because it is right and just
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News
Words - Letter D
The videos on this page came from the VOA, Voice of
America, News Words program.
Use the Fun Easy English
dictionary
for a detailed explanation of words you do not understand. |
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Debris |
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Decisive |
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Defiant |
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Deliberately |
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Delicate |
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Denuclearization |
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Desperate |
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Deteriorate |
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Dialogue |
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Dire |
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Disenchanted |
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Dissent |
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Dissident |
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Diverse |
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Doping |
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Draconian |
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Dramatic |
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Drone |
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Drought |
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