1. Cryptic – mysterious; hidden; secret
Nickolas Cage had to go through obstacles to unveil the cryptic map.

2. Cursory – casual; hastily done
The student took a cursory glance at the difficult homework and decided not to do it.

3. Curtail – shorten; reduce
After numerous accidents, the policed curtailed the speed in the parking lot.

4. propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners
Decorum –
propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners
There was great decorum in how he ate his food; his elbows were always off of the table.

5. courteous regard for another's wish
Deference –
courteous regard for another's wish
My little sister bowed her head in deference to me, her leader!

6. Degradation – humiliation; debasement; degeneration
The boy experienced degradation when he tripped at the mall and everyone laughed at him.

7. Delineate – portray; depict; sketch
The coworker delineated a proposal for his boss by making a PowerPoint show.

8. Denounce – condemn; criticize
The cookie monster denounced the idea of eating sugar free cookies.

9. Deplore – regret; disapprove of
I spoke to my crush and instantly deplored how badly her breathe smelled.

10. Depravity – extreme corruption; wickedness
Even after his injury, Revolutionary Cat was determined to fight the government’s depravity.

11. 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.

12. Deride – Ridicule; make fun on
Satirical devices are used to deride other works of literature or people.

13. Derivation – Unoriginal; derived from another source
Her outfit was derivative. She wore exactly what Christina wore on Monday.

14. Despondent – depressed; gloomy
There is a very despondent atmosphere at school on rainy days.

15. Detached – emotionally removed; calm and objective; physically unconnected
When Kayden broke up with Marnie, she became very detached, making him think she never cared at all.

16. something that discourages; hindrance
Deterrent –
something that discourages; hindrance
The dog deterrent did not stop Mr. Freckles the Dalmatian from chewing everything.

17. Detrimental – harmful; damaging
Bill and Ted tried to think of a way to tell Martin that his breath smelled terribly, without having a detrimental effect on their friendship.

18. Devious – roundabout; erratic; not straightforward
The devious criminal kept outsmarting the FBI and leading them into his traps.

19. Devise – Think up; invent; plan
Children always devise ridiculous excuses for their wrong-doings.

20. The elephant’s gas diffused around the whole zoo.
Wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas)
The elephant’s gas diffused around the whole zoo.

21. Ambivalence –
The state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes.

22. Affirmation –
Positive assertion; confirmation

23. Anecdote –
short account of an amusing or interesting event.

24. Animosity –
active enmity (hate)

25. Austere –
Forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented.