Digression – wandering away from the subject

Diligence – steadiness of effort; persistent hard work Benjamin Franklin stressed that without diligence, any task will fall apart.

Diminution – lessening; reduction in size When drawing perspective, the vanishing point causes the diminution of the lines..

Discerning – mentally quick and observant; having insight While grocery shopping, Tony discerned that the new produce packing was not necessary.

Disclose – The elephant disclosed to his psychologist that it hurt his feelings when people ignored his presence in rooms. reveal

Discordant – not harmonious; conflicting

Discount – disregard; dismiss Distracted kitty discounted the importance of completing his homework.

Discrepancy – lack of consistency; difference After unpacking the new stock of shoes, Asher found a discrepancy in the product.

Discriminating – able to see differences; prejudiced The aquarium used discriminating selection when developing its new tank. All of the fish had to be orange.

Disdain– view with scorn or contempt The Grinch felt intense disdain towards the happy Whos of Whosville.

Disinclination– unwillingness Winston had a disinclination towards any room where a spider was or ever had been seen.

Dismiss– put away from consideration; reject The judge dismissed the case, finding that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the defendant.

Disparage– belittle The bully’s taunts were disparaging.

Disparity– difference; condition of inequality Disparity of class can be found everywhere on the streets of New York City.

Disperse– scatter The flower’s seeds dispersed into the air.

Disputatious– argumentative; fond of arguing Snoopy selected a disputatious title that would likely offend several readers.

Disseminate– distribute; spread; scatter After the volcanoes eruptions, debris disseminated into the air..

Dissent– disagree The employees knew that they could not dissent from their boss’s ideas.

Divergent– differing; deviating

The doctrine declared a new set of laws. teachings, in general; particular principle (religious, legal, etc.) taught The doctrine declared a new set of laws.

Review! Words from your past!

Express disapproval of; protest against; belittle Deprecate – Express disapproval of; protest against; belittle My lacrosse coach is a good coach, because she does not deprecate the team even when we make silly mistakes.

Adversity – unfavorable fortune; hardship; a calamitous event The snake experienced adversity when being bullied by the school of possums.

Adulation – flattery; admiration Mr. Yorkson was a very critical boss, but he finally gave adulation during a meeting. Unfortunately, it was for his own idea.

benevolent Generous; charitable

Composure Mental calmness Audrey Hepburn was known for keeping her composure in even the most dramatic of times.