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Deacon

To read aloud each line of (a psalm or hymn) before singing it, -- usually with off.

Deaconess

A female deacon One of an order of women whose duties resembled those of deacons. A woman set apart for church work by a bishop. A woman chosen as a helper in church work, as among the Congregationalists.

Deaconhood

The state of being a deacon; office of a deacon; deaconship.

Deaconship

The office or ministry of a deacon or deaconess.

deactivate

To make inactive; to render ineffective; as, to deactivate a bomb; to deactivate a machine; to deactivate the alarm.

Dead

To die; to lose life or force.

Dead-eye

A round, flattish, wooden block, encircled by a rope, or an iron band, and pierced with three holes to receive the lanyard; -- used to extend the shrouds and stays, and for other purposes. Called also deadman's eye.

Dead-hearted

Having a dull, faint heart; spiritless; listless.

dead-on

precisely accurate and to the point; as, a dead-on feel for characterization.

Dead-pay

Pay drawn for soldiers, or others, really dead, whose names are kept on the rolls.

Deadbeat

Making a beat without recoil; giving indications by a single beat or excursion; -- said of galvanometers and other instruments in which the needle or index moves to the extent of its deflection and stops with little or no further oscillation.

deadbeat dead beat

a loafer, sponger, or swindler; especially, one who does not pay his debts. Same as Beat, n., 7.

Deaden

To make as dead; to impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; to lessen the force or acuteness of; to blunt; as, to deaden the natural powers or feelings; to deaden a sound.

Deadener

One who, or that which, deadens or checks.

deadening

The act of making something futile and useless (as by routine).

Deadhead

One who receives free tickets for theaters, public conveyances, etc.

Deadhouse

A morgue; a place for the temporary reception and exposure of dead bodies.

Deadish

Somewhat dead, dull, or lifeless; deathlike.

Deadlatch

A kind of latch whose bolt may be so locked by a detent that it can not be opened from the inside by the handle, or from the outside by the latch key.

Deadlight

A strong shutter, made to fit open ports and keep out water in a storm.

deadlock

A lock which is not self-latching, but requires a key to throw the bolt forward.

deadlocked

at a complete standstill because of opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions.

deadly

In a manner resembling, or as if produced by, death; deathly.

Deadness

The state of being destitute of life, vigor, spirit, activity, etc.; dullness; inertness; languor; coldness; vapidness; indifference; as, the deadness of a limb, a body, or a tree; the deadness of an eye; deadness of the affections; the deadness of beer or cider; deadness to the world, and the like.

Deads

The substances which inclose the ore on every side.

Deadwood

A mass of timbers built into the bow and stern of a vessel to give solidity.

Deadworks

The parts of a ship above the water when she is laden.

deaf-aid

an electronic device which amplifies sound and is worn to compensate for poor hearing.

Deaf-mute

A person who is deaf and dumb; one who, through deprivation or defect of hearing, has either failed the acquire the power of speech, or has lost it.

Deafen

To make deaf; to deprive of the power of hearing; to render incapable of perceiving sounds distinctly.

deafening

extremely loud; so loud as to cause deafness; as, a disco with rock music played at a deafening volume.

Deafness

Incapacity of perceiving sounds; the state of the organs which prevents the impression which constitute hearing; want of the sense of hearing.

Deal

To make distribution; to share out in portions, as cards to the players.

Dealer

One who deals; one who has to do, or has concern, with others; esp., a trader, a trafficker, a shopkeeper, a broker, or a merchant; as, a dealer in dry goods; a dealer in stocks; a retail dealer.

Dealfish

A long, thin fish of the arctic seas (Trachypterus arcticus).

Dealing

The act of one who deals; distribution of anything, as of cards to the players; method of business; traffic; intercourse; transaction; as, to have dealings with a person.

Deambulatory

A covered place in which to walk; an ambulatory.

Dean

A dignitary or presiding officer in certain ecclesiastical and lay bodies; esp., an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a bishop.

Deanery

The office or the revenue of a dean. See the Note under Benefice, n., 3.

Dear-bought

Bought at a high price; as, dear-bought experience.

Dearborn

A four-wheeled carriage, with curtained sides.

Deare

variant of Dere, v. t. n.

Dearly

In a dear manner; with affection; heartily; earnestly; as, to love one dearly.

Dearness

The quality or state of being dear; costliness; excess of price.

Dearth

Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine.

Death

The cessation of all vital phenomena without capability of resuscitation, either in animals or plants.

death knell

A stroke or tolling of a bell, announcing a death; a knell{1}.

death-roll

a list of persons killed in a war or other disaster.

Death's-head

A naked human skull as the emblem of death; the head of the conventional personification of death.

Deathbed

The bed in which a person dies; hence, the closing hours of life of one who dies by sickness or the like; the last sickness.

Deathbird

Tengmalm's or Richardson's owl (Nyctale Tengmalmi); -- so called from a superstition of the North American Indians that its note presages death.

Deathblow

A mortal or crushing blow; a stroke or event which kills or destroys.

Deathful

Full of death or slaughter; murderous; destructive; bloody.

Deathless

Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.

Deathly

Deadly; as, deathly pale or sick.

Deathsman

An executioner; a headsman or hangman.

Deathwatch

A small beetle (Anobium tessellatum and other allied species). By forcibly striking its head against woodwork it makes a ticking sound, which is a call of the sexes to each other, but has been imagined by superstitious people to presage death. A small wingless insect, of the family Psocid/, which makes a similar but fainter sound; -- called also deathtick.

Deave

To stun or stupefy with noise; to deafen.

Debacle

A breaking or bursting forth; a violent rush or flood of waters which breaks down opposing barriers, and hurls forward and disperses blocks of stone and other d/bris.

Debar

To cut off from entrance, as if by a bar or barrier; to preclude; to hinder from approach, entry, or enjoyment; to shut out or exclude; to deny or refuse; -- with from, and sometimes with of.

Debarb

To deprive of the beard.

Debark

To go ashore from a ship or boat; to disembark; to put ashore.

Debase

To reduce from a higher to a lower state or grade of worth, dignity, purity, station, etc.; to degrade; to lower; to deteriorate; to abase; as, to debase the character by crime; to debase the mind by frivolity; to debase style by vulgar words.

Debased

Turned upside down from its proper position; inverted; reversed.

Debasement

The act of debasing or the state of being debased.

Debaser

One who, or that which, debases.

Debatable

Liable to be debated; disputable; subject to controversy or contention; open to question or dispute; as, a debatable question.

Debate

A fight or fighting; contest; strife.

Debateful

Full of contention; contentious; quarrelsome.

Debater

One who debates; one given to argument; a disputant; a controvertist.

Debating

The act of discussing or arguing; discussion.

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