Coy

(adj.) modest; bashful; pretending shyness to attract

1. Her coy manners attracted the man.
2. He's not really that shy, he's just being coy.

Crass

(adj.) stupid or dull; insensitive; materialistic

1. To make light of someone's weakness is crass.
2. They made their money the old-fashioned way, but still they were accused of being crass.
3. My respect for the man was lowered when he made the crass remark.

Craven

(n.; adj.) coward; abject person; cowardly

1. While many fought for their rights, the craven sat shaking, off in a corner somewhere.
2. Craven men will not stand up for what they believe in.

Culpable

(adj.) deserving blame; guilty

1. The convicted criminal still denies that he is culpable for the robbery.

Curb

(n.) a restraint or framework

1. A curb was put up along the street to help drainage.

Curmudgeon

(n.) an ill-tempered person

1. The curmudgeon asked the children not to play near the house.

Cursory

(adj.) hasty; slight

1. The detective's cursory examination of the crime scene caused him to overlook the lesser clues.

(n.) one who believes that others are motivated entirely by selfishness.

1. The cynic felt that the hero saved the man to become famous.

Dais

(n.) a raised platform at one end of a room

1. The dais was lowered to make the speaker look taller.

Dally

(v.) to loiter; to waste time

1. Please do not dally or we will miss our appointment.

Dank

(adj.) damp and chilly

1. The cellar became very dank during the winter time.

Dauntless

(adj.) fearless; not discouraged

1. The dauntless ranger scaled the mountain to complete the rescue.

Dearth

(n.) scarcity; shortage

1. A series of coincidental resignations left the firm with a dearth of talent.
2. The dearth of the coverage forced him to look for a new insurance agent.

Debacle

(n.) disaster; collapse; a rout

1. The SEC and the stock exchanges implemented numerous safeguards to head off another debacle on Wall Street.

Debase

(v.) to make lower in quality

1. The French are concerned that "Franglais," a blending of English and French, will debase their language.

Debauchery

(n.) indulgence in one's appetites

1. The preacher decried debauchery and urged charity.

Debilitate

(v.) to enfeeble; to wear out

1. The phlebitis debilitated him to the point where he was unable even to walk.

2. The illness will debilitate the muscles in his legs.

Debonair

(adj.) having an affable manner; carefree; genial

1. Opening the door for another is a debonair action.

Decadence

(n.) a decline in morals or art

1. Some believe the decadence of Nero's rule led to the fall of the empire.

Deciduous

(adj.) shedding; temporary

1. When the leaves began to fall from the tree we learned that it was deciduous.

Decisiveness

(n.) an act of being firm or determined

1. Decisiveness is one of the key qualities of a successful executive.

Decorous

(adj.) showing decorum; propriety, good taste

1. This movie provides decorous refuge from the violence and mayhem that permeates the latest crop of Hollywood films.
2. The decorous suit was made of fine material.

Decry

(v.) to denounce or condemn openly

1. The pastor decried all forms of discrimination against any minority group.

Defamation

(n.) to harm a name or reputation; to slander

1. The carpenter felt that the notoriousness of his former partner brought defamation to his construction business.

Deference

(n.) a yielding of opinion; courteous respect for

1. To avoid a confrontation, the man showed deference to his friend.
2. The deference shown to the elderly woman's opinion was heartwarming.

Deferential

(adj.) yielding to the opinion of another

1. After debating students living in the Sixth Ward for months, the mayor's deferential statements indicated that he had come to some understanding with them.

Defunct

(adj.) no longer living or existing

1. The man lost a large sum of money when the company went defunct.

Deign

(v.) condescend; stoop

1. He said he wouldn't deign to dignify her statement with a response.
2. Fired from his job as a programmer analyst, Joe vowed he would never deign to mop floors-even if he were down to his last penny.

Deleterious

(adj.) harmful; hurtful; noxious

1. Deleterious fumes escaped from the overturned truck.

Deliberate

(v.; adj.) to consider carefully; weigh in the mind; intentional

1. The jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict.
2. The brother's deliberate attempt to get his sibling blamed for his mistake was obvious to all.

Delineate

(v.) to outline; to describe

1. She delineated her plan so that everyone would have a basic understanding of it.

Deliquesce

(v.) to dissolve

1. The snow deliquesced when the temperature rose.

Delusion

(n.) a false belief or opinion

1. The historian suffered from the delusion that he was Napoleon.

Demise

(n.) ceasing to exist as in death

1. The demise of Gimbels followed years of decline.

Demur

(v.; n.) to object; objection; misgiving

1. She hated animals, so when the subject of buying a cat came up, she demurred.
2. She said yes, but he detected a demur in her voice.
3. She was nominated to sit on the committee, but she demurred.
4. The council president called for a vote, and hearing no demur, asked for a count by the clerk.

Denigrate

(v.) to defame, to blacken or sully; to belittle

1. After finding out her evil secret, he announced it to the council and denigrated her in public.
2. Her attempt to denigrate the man's name was not successful.

Denounce

(v.) to speak out against; condemn

1. A student rally was called to denounce the use of drugs on campus.

Depict

(v.) to portray; describe

1. The mural depicts the life of a typical urban dweller.

Deplete

(v.) to reduce; to empty, exhaust

1. Having to pay the entire bill will deplete the family's savings.

Deposition

(n.) a removal from office or power; a testimony

1. Failing to act lawfully could result in his deposition.
2. She met with her lawyer this morning to review her deposition.

Depravity

(n.) moral corruption; badness

1. Drugs and money caused depravity throughout the once decorous community.
2. The depravity of the old man was bound to land him in jail one day.

Deprecate

(v.) to express disapproval of; to protest against

1. The environmentalists deprecated the paper companies for cutting down ancient forests.
2. The organization will deprecate the opening of the sewage plant.

Depredation

(n.) a plundering or laying waste

1. The pharaoh's once rich tomb was empty after centuries of depredation from grave robbers.

Deride

(v.) to laugh at with contempt; to mock

1. No matter what he said, he was derided.
2. It is impolite to deride someone even if you dislike him.

Derision

(n.) the act of mocking; ridicule, mockery

1. A day of derision from the boss left the employee feeling depressed.
2. Constant derision from classmates made him quit school.

Derisive

(adj.) showing disrespect or scorn for

1. The derisive comment was aimed at the man's life long enemy.

Derogatory

(adj.) belittling; uncomplimentary

1. He was upset because his annual review was full of derogatory comments.

Descant

(v.) lengthy talking or writing

1. The man will descant on the subject if you give him too much speaking time.

Desecrate

(v.) to profane; violate the sanctity of

1. The teenagers' attempt to desecrate the church disturbed the community.

Desist

(v.) to stop or cease

1. The judge ordered the man to desist from calling his ex-wife in the middle of the night.