Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary

deliberate

ADJECTIVE 1 done on purpose or planned in advance

2 slow and careful in speech and action • deliberate movements

deliberately ADVERB

delicate

ADJECTIVE 1 light and attractive • a delicate perfume

2 fragile and needing to be handled carefully • a delicate china cup

3 precise or sensitive • delicate instruments

delicately ADVERB

delicatessen delicatessens

NOUN a shop selling unusual or imported foods

delicious

ADJECTIVE Delicious food or drink has an extremely pleasant taste.

SYNONYMS: delectable, scrumptious

delight delights, delighting, delighted

NOUN 1 great pleasure or joy

VERB 2 If something delights you, or if you are delighted by it, it gives you a lot of pleasure.

delighted ADJECTIVE

delinquent delinquents

NOUN a young person who commits minor crimes

delinquency NOUN

delirious

ADJECTIVE 1 unable to speak or act in a rational way because of illness or fever

2 wildly excited and happy

deliriously ADVERB

deliver delivers, delivering, delivered

VERB 1 If you deliver something to someone, you take it and give it to them.

2 If someone delivers a baby, they help the woman who is giving birth.

delta deltas

NOUN a triangular piece of land at the mouth of a river where it divides into separate streams

deluge deluges

NOUN a sudden, heavy downpour of rain

demand demands, demanding, demanded

VERB 1 If you demand something, you ask for it forcefully.

NOUN 2 If there is demand for something, a lot of people want to buy it or have it.

democracy democracies

NOUN a system of government in which the people choose their leaders by voting for them in elections

democratic ADJECTIVE

demolish demolishes, demolishing, demolished

VERB If someone demolishes a building, they knock it down.

demolition NOUN

demon demons

NOUN a devil or an evil spirit

demonstrate demonstrates, demonstrating, demonstrated

VERB 1 If you demonstrate something to somebody, you show them how to do it or how it works.

2 If people demonstrate, they march or gather together to show that they oppose or support something.

demonstration demonstrations

NOUN 1 If someone gives a demonstration, they show how to do something or how something works.

2 a march or a gathering of people to show publicly what they think about something

den dens

NOUN 1 a home or hiding place of a wild animal

2 a special place where you can do what you want without being disturbed

denial denials

NOUN 1 A denial of something is a statement that it is untrue.

2 The denial of a request is the refusal to grant it.

denim denims

NOUN strong, cotton cloth used for making clothes, especially jeans

[from French serge de Nîmes, meaning serge (a type of cloth) from Nîmes]

denominator denominators

NOUN In mathematics, the denominator is the bottom number of a fraction.

dense denser, densest

ADJECTIVE 1 Something that is dense contains a lot of things or people in a small area. • We cut our way through the dense forest.

2 difficult to see through • The dense fog prevented us from enjoying the view over the hills.

densely ADVERB

density densities

NOUN 1 thickness

2 the proportion of mass to volume

dent dents, denting, dented

VERB 1 If you dent something, you damage its surface by hitting it.

NOUN 2 a hollow in the surface of something

dental

ADJECTIVE to do with teeth

dentist dentists

NOUN a person who is qualified to treat people’s teeth

dentures

PLURAL NOUN false teeth

deny denies, denying, denied

VERB 1 If you deny something, you say that it is not true.

2 If you are denied something, you are refused it.

deodorant deodorants

NOUN a substance used to hide or prevent the smell of sweat on your body

depart departs, departing, departed

VERB When you depart, you leave.

departure NOUN

department departments

NOUN one of the sections into which a large shop or an organization is divided

department store department stores

NOUN a very large shop divided into departments, each selling different types of goods

depend depends, depending, depended

VERB 1 If one thing depends on another, it is influenced by it. • The cooking time depends on the size of the potato.

2 If you depend on someone or something, you trust them and rely on them.

dependable

ADJECTIVE If someone is dependable, you can trust them to be helpful, sensible and reliable.

depict depicts, depicting, depicted

VERB If you depict someone or something, you paint, draw or describe them.

deport deports, deporting, deported

VERB If someone is deported from a country they are sent out of it, either because they have no right to be there, because they have done something wrong or because they did not ask permission to be there.

deposit deposits, depositing, deposited

VERB 1 If you deposit something, you put it down or leave it somewhere.

NOUN 2 a sum of money given in part payment for goods or services

depot depots

NOUN 1 a place where supplies of food or equipment are stored until they are needed

2 A bus depot is a bus station.

depressed

ADJECTIVE sad and gloomy

depression depressions

NOUN 1 a state of mind in which someone feels unhappy and has no energy or enthusiasm for anything

2 a hollow in the ground or on any other surface

3 a time when there is a lot of unemployment and poverty

deprive deprives, depriving, deprived

VERB If you deprive someone of something, you take it away from them or prevent them from having it.

depth depths

NOUN 1 the measurement or distance between the top and bottom of something, or the back and front of something • The depth of the swimming pool at the deep end is 1.5 m.

PHRASE 2 In depth means thoroughly. • We studied the poem in depth.

deputy deputies

NOUN a person who helps someone in their job and acts on their behalf when they are away

derail derails, derailed, derailing

VERB If a train is derailed, it comes off the railway tracks.

derivation derivations

NOUN The derivation of something is where it has come from.

derive derives, deriving, derived

VERB 1 FORMAL If you derive something from someone or something, you get it from them. • He derives great pleasure from music.

2 If something is derived from something else, it comes from that thing. • His name is derived from a Greek word.

descant descants

NOUN 1 The descant to a tune is another tune played at the same time but at a higher pitch.

ADJECTIVE 2 A descant musical instrument plays the highest notes in a range of instruments. • a descant recorder

descend descends, descending, descended

VERB If someone or something descends, they move downwards. • We descended to the basement in the lift.

ANTONYM: ascend

descendant descendants

NOUN A person’s descendants are all the people in later generations who are related to them.

describe describes, describing, described

VERB If you describe someone or something, you say what they are like.

desert deserts, deserting, deserted

Said “dez-ert” NOUN 1 an area of land, usually in a hot region, that has almost no water, rain, trees or plants • the Sahara Desert

Said “de-zert” VERB 2 If someone deserts you, they leave you and no longer help or support you.

deserted

ADJECTIVE A deserted building or place is one that people have left and never come back to.

deserve deserves, deserving, deserved

VERB If you deserve something, you earn it or have a right to it.