1.

debunk

Expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Everyone, as usual, put much more work into finding supporting evidence than debunkingevidence. Salon (Apr 19, 2013)

2.

deflect

draw someone's attention away from something

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Still others said their opponents spent so much time deflecting questions about scandals, they never had to face more substantive criticism. New York Times (Jul 17, 2013)

3.

defy

resist or confront with resistance

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Mr Weiner has so far defied calls to drop out of the election race BBC (Jul 25, 2013)

4.

degrade

reduce in worth or character, usually verbally

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Such encryption could degrade the personalized services net companies are offering. The Guardian (Jun 29, 2013)

5.

deliberate

carefully thought out in advance

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
After talks between the two sides failed in recent days, Vivus accused First Manhattan of sending deliberate misinformation to fellow shareholders. Reuters (Jul 19, 2013)

6.

delineate

represented accurately or precisely

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
States rights are delineated in the Constitution and through judicial precedent. Time (Apr 8, 2013)

7.

demur

take exception to

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Feeling lazy, I demurred but when Mike brought it up again 15 minutes later, I gave in just to shut him up. New York Times (Aug 23, 2012)

8.

derivation

the act of deriving something or obtaining something from a source or origin

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
No following can be more productive of a study and love of word derivations and allied word meanings than gardening. Alice Morse Earle

9.

deteriorate

become worse or disintegrate

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

But Mrs Shaw's condition deteriorated and the booking was cancelled in early May. BBC (Jul 25, 2013)

10.

deterministic

an inevitable consequence of antecedent sufficient causes

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
It is governed by the assumptions of a deterministic, predictable world and focused on centralization, coercion, formality, tight rein, imposed discipline and obedience. Forbes (Dec 11, 2012)

11.

deviation

a variation that deviates from the standard or norm

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Self-censorship Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed. Washington Post (Jun 9, 2012)

12.

didactic

instructive (especially excessively)

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Didactic, self-righteous and smug, full of easy slogans, this sort of art leaves people just as boxed in as the systems it supposedly critiques. New York Times (Jan 9, 2012)

13.

differentiate

mark as different

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The novel's five sections are strictly differentiated by tense, point of view and style. The Guardian (Jul 27, 2013)

14.

diffidence

lack of self-confidence

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
That would not please the base, but in todays bitterly divisive politics, a bit more diffidence could go a long way. Economist (Sep 27, 2012)

15.

diffuse

spread out; not concentrated in one place

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Also, Democrats tend to congregate in the same districts, while Republicans are more diffuse. New York Times (Jan 28, 2013)

16.

disaffection

the feeling of being alienated from other people

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Some observers warn that popular disaffection may discredit all major political parties, eroding faith in the state itself. Time (Aug 23, 2010)

17.

disapprobation

an expression of strong disapproval; pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
After all this while I had given up every expectation of seeing you again, he said in a curt manner that betrayed his disapprobation. F.E. Mills Young

18.

discern

detect with the senses

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
In Thatchers case, Harris thought he discerned a kind of megalomaniacal glint in the eye. Newsweek (Apr 8, 2013)

19.

disgruntled

in a state of sulky dissatisfaction

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Meanwhile, one disgruntled employee in New York hacked into and corrupted his former employers network, causing approximately $90,000 in damages. Forbes (Jul 12, 2013)

20.

dislocation

the act of disrupting an established order so it fails to continue

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
As factories automate, huge Asian economies originally built around cheap human labor China and India in particularare likely to suffer from even greater dislocations. Newsweek (Feb 5, 2013)

21.

disparate

including markedly dissimilar elements

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
After some teething issues, future incarnations will be more ambitious, cut down on red tape, and align disparate rules, a commission spokesman says. Science Magazine (Jul 12, 2013)

22.

dispassionate

unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
However, unlike the current emotional debate surrounding gun control in the United States, the Swiss approach is more dispassionate and pragmatic. Time (Mar 4, 2013)

23.

disquieting

causing mental discomfort

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
There is a disquieting sense of lives being lost in real time. New York Times (Jun 18, 2013)

24.

disseminate

cause to become widely known

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Video, filmed by an onlooker, was quickly picked up by news organizations and disseminated on social media. Time (May 24, 2013)

25.

dissolution

the termination or disintegration of a relationship (between persons or nations)

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The singer's wife had filed for dissolution of marriage in September last year, according to San Diego Superior Court documents. BBC (May 8, 2013)

26.

distinctive

of a feature that helps to distinguish a person or thing

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

Regarded as one of the world's most successful and influential architects, Lord Rogers' distinctive, eye-catching creations can be seen far and wide. BBC (Jul 22, 2013)

27.

divergence

a difference between conflicting facts or claims or opinions

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Meanwhile, consumers are downright giddy, sharpening the divergence with gloomy corporations. BusinessWeek (Oct 26, 2012)

28.

diversify

make (more) diverse

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
In order to sidestep the tighter security presence in Maiduguri, the Islamist militants have diversified their tactics. BBC (Jul 23, 2013)

29.

dogmatic

of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His critics, generally dogmatic religious types, are merely one-dimensional villains. New York Times (Aug 15, 2012)

30.

dwelling

housing that someone is living in

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
While the group failed to locate a nest - hives are dwellings for domesticated honeybees - they identified and photographed at least three queens. Reuters (Jul 19, 2013)