Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary. Collins Dictionaries

      SYNONYMS: longing, want, wish

      desk desks

      NOUN a piece of furniture with a flat or sloping top, which you sit at to write, read or work

      desktop

      ADJECTIVE small enough to be used at a desk • a desktop computer

      desolate

      ADJECTIVE 1 deserted and bleak • a desolate mountain top

      2 lonely, very sad, and without hope

      desolation NOUN

      despair despairs, despairing, despaired

      NOUN 1 a total loss of hope

      VERB 2 If you despair, you lose hope.

      desperate

      ADJECTIVE 1 If you are desperate, you are in such a bad situation that you will try anything to change it.

      2 A desperate situation is extremely dangerous or serious.

      despicable

      ADJECTIVE Something that is despicable is nasty, cruel or evil.

      despise despises, despising, despised

      VERB If you despise someone or something, you have a very low opinion of them.

      despite

      PREPOSITION If you do something despite some difficulty, you manage to do it anyway.

      dessert desserts

      NOUN a sweet food that you eat at the end of a meal

      destination destinations

      NOUN the place you are going to

      destined

      ADJECTIVE meant to happen • They were destined to meet.

      destiny destinies

      NOUN Your destiny is your fate: the things that will happen to you in the future.

      destitute

      ADJECTIVE without money or possessions, and therefore in great need

      destitution NOUN

      destroy destroys, destroying, destroyed

      VERB If you destroy something, you damage it so much that it is completely ruined.

      SYNONYMS: demolish, ruin, wreck

      destruction NOUN

      destructive

      ADJECTIVE Something that is destructive can cause great damage, harm or injury.

      SYNONYM: damaging

      detach detaches, detaching, detached

      VERB If you detach something, you remove or unfasten it.

      detachable ADJECTIVE

      detached

      ADJECTIVE separate or standing apart • It was a detached house, standing alone at the top of the hill.

      detail details

      NOUN 1 an individual fact or feature of something • I remember every detail of that film.

      PLURAL NOUN 2 Details about something are information about it. For example, your details might be your name and address.

      detain detains, detaining, detained

      VERB If you detain someone, you keep them from going somewhere or doing something.

      detect detects, detecting, detected

      VERB If you detect something, you notice or find it. • X-rays can detect broken bones.

      detective detectives

      NOUN a person, usually a police officer, whose job is to investigate crimes

      detector detectors

      NOUN an instrument used to detect the presence of something • a metal detector

      detention

      NOUN 1 a form of punishment in which a pupil is made to stay in school for extra time when other children do not have to

      2 arrest or imprisonment

      deter deters, deterring, deterred

      VERB If you deter someone from doing something, you persuade them not to do it or try to stop them in some way.

      detergent detergents

      NOUN a chemical substance used for washing or cleaning things

      deteriorate deteriorates, deteriorating, deteriorated

      VERB If something deteriorates, it gets worse.

      deterioration NOUN

      determination

      NOUN a great strength and will to do something

      determined

      ADJECTIVE having your mind firmly made up • She was determined to pass her exams.

      deterrent deterrents

      NOUN something that prevents people from doing something, usually by making them afraid to do it • We have a car alarm as a deterrent to car thieves.

      detest detests, detesting, detested

      VERB If you detest someone or something, you dislike them intensely.

      [from Latin detestari meaning to curse]

      detestable ADJECTIVE

      detonate detonates, detonating, detonated

      VERB If someone detonates a bomb or mine, they cause it to explode.

      detonation NOUN detonator NOUN

      detour detours

      NOUN If you make a detour on a journey, you go by a longer or less direct route.

      devastate devastates, devastating, devastated

      VERB A place that has been devastated has been severely damaged or destroyed.

      devastation NOUN

      develop develops, developing, developed

      VERB 1 When something develops, it grows or becomes more advanced.

      2 If you develop photographs or film, you produce a visible image from them.

      development developments

      NOUN gradual growth or progress • There have been great developments in technology over the past fifty years.

      device devices

      NOUN a machine or tool that is used for a particular purpose

      devil devils

      NOUN an evil spirit

      devious

      ADJECTIVE Devious people behave in an underhand, nasty and secretive way.

      devise devises, devising, devised

      VERB If you devise something, you invent it or design it.

      devoted

      ADJECTIVE very loving and loyal

      devour devours, devouring, devoured

      VERB 1 If you devour food, you eat it quickly and greedily.

      2 If one creature devours another, it eats it.

      3 If you devour a book, you read it very quickly.

      devout

      ADJECTIVE very deeply religious

      dew

      NOUN drops of moisture that form on the ground and other cool surfaces at night

      diabetes

      NOUN a condition in which a person has too much sugar in their blood

      diabetic