This list includes 89 Big words that start with D, from “decadent” to “divination”. They are chiefly polysyllabic, formal terms often from Latin or Greek, useful for writing, speeches, and study.
Big words that start with D are established, multisyllabic terms that add precision and rhetorical weight. Many come from Latin legal and philosophical traditions, with “divination” being a long-standing example.
Below you’ll find the table with Word, Etymology, and Definition.
Word: The term itself, alphabetized so you can spot entries quickly and choose items for writing or study.
Etymology: Shows language of origin and root elements so you understand how the word developed and how to use it accurately.
Definition: A clear one-sentence meaning that helps you apply the word in context, whether for essays or speech.
Big words that start with D
| Word | Part of speech | Etymology | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| dichotomy | noun | Greek: di- + temnein ‘cut’, 17th c. | Division into two sharply opposed parts. |
| deleterious | adjective | Latin: delere ‘destroy’ + -ous, 17th c. | Harmful or damaging, often gradually or subtly. |
| defenestration | noun | Latinized Czech: de- + fenestra ‘window’, 17th c. | Act of throwing someone or something out of a window. |
| deferential | adjective | Latin: deferre ‘submit’ + -ial, 17th c. | Showing respectful submission or yielding to others. |
| deontology | noun | Greek: deon ‘duty’ + -logy, 19th c. | Ethical study focused on duties and rules. |
| deontological | adjective | Greek: deon ‘duty’ + -logical, 19th c. | Relating to duty-based ethical theories. |
| decadent | adjective | Latin: de- + cadere ‘fall’, 19th c. | Marked by moral or cultural decline; self-indulgent. |
| deciduous | adjective | Latin: decidere ‘fall off’, 17th c. | Shedding leaves annually, as certain trees do. |
| decipherment | noun | Latin: de- + cipher, 19th c. | Process of interpreting or decoding obscure writing. |
| decorticate | verb | Latin: de- + cortex ‘bark’, 17th c. | To remove bark or outer layer; surgically strip cortex. |
| decrepitude | noun | Latin: decrepitus ‘grown old’, 17th c. | State of being worn out or in ruinous condition. |
| definitive | adjective | Latin: definire ‘determine’, 17th c. | Conclusive, authoritative, or final. |
| defenestrate | verb | Latinized from Czech fenestra, 17th c. | To throw out of a window; to remove abruptly. |
| demagogue | noun | Greek: demos ‘people’ + agogos ‘leader’, 17th c. | Leader who appeals to emotions and prejudices. |
| demarcation | noun | Latin: de- + macare ‘mark’, 18th c. | Act of setting boundaries or distinguishing limits. |
| demonstrable | adjective | Latin: demonstrare ‘show’, 17th c. | Able to be shown or proven clearly. |
| demonstrative | adjective | Latin: demonstrare ‘show’, 16th c. | Openly expressive of emotion or proof-oriented. |
| demography | noun | Greek: demos ‘people’ + -graphy, 19th c. | Statistical study of populations and their changes. |
| demystification | noun | Greek/Latin roots: de- + mystify, 19th c. | Process of making something clear and less mysterious. |
| denouement | noun | French: dénouement ‘untying’, 18th c. | Final resolution or outcome of a narrative plot. |
| denigrate | verb | Latin: de- + niger ‘blacken’, 17th c. | To belittle or speak damagingly of someone’s reputation. |
| denunciation | noun | Latin: denuntiare ‘announce’, 16th c. | Formal public condemnation or accusation. |
| denominational | adjective | Latin: de- + nomen ‘name’, 17th c. | Relating to a religious or organizational subgroup. |
| dendrochronology | noun | Greek: dendron ‘tree’ + chronos ‘time’, 20th c. | Dating events using tree-ring patterns. |
| delineate | verb | Latin: de- + lineare ‘to line’, 17th c. | To describe or portray precisely; to outline. |
| deliberation | noun | Latin: deliberare ‘weigh carefully’, 14th c. | Careful consideration or formal discussion before decision. |
| deliberative | adjective | Latin: deliberare ‘weigh’, 17th c. | Designed for careful consideration or discussion. |
| delirium | noun | Latin: delirare ‘be off the furrow’, 16th c. | Acute mental disturbance with confusion or hallucinations. |
| delirious | adjective | Latin: delirare ‘be off the furrow’, 17th c. | In a state of extreme excitement or mental disturbance. |
| dematerialize | verb | Latin: de- + materialis, 19th c. | To cease to be physical or to remove material form. |
| denizen | noun | Old French/Latin: lieu ‘place’, 14th c. | Inhabitant or long-term resident of a place. |
| deprecate | verb | Latin: deprecari ‘pray against’, 15th c. | To express disapproval or belittle something gently. |
| deracinate | verb | Latin: de- + radix ‘root’, 18th c. | To uproot or remove from native environment. |
| deregulation | noun | Latin: de- + regulation, 20th c. | Removal of government controls from an industry. |
| derivative | adjective | Latin: derivare ‘draw off’, 17th c. | Copied or unoriginal; derived from something else. |
| dereliction | noun | Latin: derelinquere ‘abandon’, 15th c. | Willful neglect or abandonment of duty. |
| derogation | noun | Latin: derogare ‘to take away’, 15th c. | Partial repeal or belittling of status or law. |
| desiccation | noun | Latin: desiccare ‘dry up’, 17th c. | Process of extreme drying or dehydration. |
| desideratum | noun | Latin: desiderare ‘desire’, 17th c. | Something that is needed or wanted; an essential requirement. |
| despotism | noun | Greek: despotēs ‘master’, 16th c. | Rule by an absolute, often oppressive, ruler. |
| desuetude | noun | Latin: desuetudo ‘disuse’, 17th c. | State of being no longer used or practiced. |
| desultory | adjective | Latin: desultor ‘leaper’, 17th c. | Lacking plan or purpose; sporadic and disconnected. |
| determinism | noun | Latin: determinare ‘to bound’, 19th c. | Doctrine that events are wholly determined by prior causes. |
| deterministic | adjective | Latin: determinare, 19th c. | Relating to deterministic cause-and-effect systems. |
| detrimental | adjective | Latin: detrimentum ‘harm’, 17th c. | Causing harm or damage. |
| deuteragonist | noun | Greek: deutero- ‘second’ + agonistes, 19th c. | Second most important character in a drama. |
| diabolical | adjective | Greek: diabolos ‘slanderer’, 16th c. | Extremely wicked or cruel; devilish. |
| diacritic | noun | Greek: diakritikos, 17th c. | A mark added to a letter to indicate pronunciation. |
| diagnostic | adjective | Greek: dia- + gnostikos ‘knowing’, 17th c. | Relating to identifying the nature of a problem or disease. |
| diagrammatic | adjective | Greek: diagraphein ‘to draw’, 19th c. | Expressed or shown as a diagram. |
| dialectical | adjective | Greek: dialectike, 18th c. | Relating to logical discussion or thesis-antithesis synthesis. |
| diametrical | adjective | Greek: diameter ‘through measure’, 17th c. | Absolutely or directly opposed; opposite in direction. |
| diaphanous | adjective | Greek: diaphanēs ‘transparent’, 17th c. | Light, delicate, and translucent in appearance. |
| didactic | adjective | Greek: didaktikos ‘teaching’, 17th c. | Intended to instruct or morally teach. |
| dilapidated | adjective | Latin: de- + lapis ‘stone’, 17th c. | In ruin or poor repair from age or neglect. |
| dilettante | noun | Italian: dilettare ‘to delight’, 18th c. | Person who dabbles in an art or field without seriousness. |
| dilatory | adjective | Latin: dilatare ‘to delay’, 17th c. | Tending to delay or procrastinate. |
| diminutive | adjective | Latin: diminutivus, 16th c. | Very small or indicating smallness. |
| diplomatic | adjective | Latin: diploma ‘official document’, 16th c. | Skilled at negotiation or tactful handling of affairs. |
| dipsomania | noun | Greek: dipsa ‘thirst’ + mania, 19th c. | A pathological craving for alcohol; alcoholism (historical). |
| disambiguate | verb | Latin: dis- + ambiguus, 19th c. | To remove uncertainty by making meaning clear. |
| disappearance | noun | Old French/Latin roots, 14th c. | Act or fact of ceasing to be visible or present. |
| disapprobation | noun | Latin: dis- + approbare ‘approve’, 16th c. | Strong disapproval, especially by public opinion. |
| disconcerting | adjective | Latin: dis- + concertare ‘disorder’, 17th c. | Causing confusion or unease. |
| disconsolate | adjective | Latin: dis- + consolari ‘comfort’, 16th c. | Deeply unhappy and unable to be comforted. |
| discordance | noun | Latin: discordare ‘be at variance’, 17th c. | Lack of agreement or harmony among elements. |
| discrepancy | noun | Latin: discrepans ‘differing’, 16th c. | Inconsistency or mismatch between facts or accounts. |
| discriminatory | adjective | Latin: discriminare ‘distinguish’, 19th c. | Showing unfair distinctions, especially legally or socially. |
| disenfranchise | verb | Latin: dis- + enfranchise, 19th c. | To deprive someone of political or civil rights. |
| disengagement | noun | Old French/Latin roots, 19th c. | Act of withdrawing from involvement or connection. |
| disillusionment | noun | Latin: dis- + illusion, 19th c. | Feeling of disappointment after discovering unpleasant truth. |
| disingenuous | adjective | Latin: dis- + ingenuus ‘ingenuous’, 17th c. | Not straightforward or candid; crafty. |
| disinterested | adjective | Latin: dis- + interesse ‘to be between’, 16th c. | Impartial; unbiased by personal interest. |
| dislocation | noun | Latin: dis- + locare ‘place’, 17th c. | Displacement from usual place or position. |
| disparaging | adjective | Latin: dis- + par ‘equal’, 16th c. | Expressing low esteem or belittling someone or something. |
| disparity | noun | Latin: dis- + par ‘equal’, 16th c. | Marked inequality or difference between things. |
| dispassionate | adjective | Latin: dis- + passio ‘feeling’, 17th c. | Unaffected by strong emotion; impartial and calm. |
| dispensation | noun | Latin: dispensare ‘distribute’, 15th c. | Official permission or an exemption from a rule. |
| dissertation | noun | Latin: disserere ‘discuss’, 16th c. | Formal, lengthy academic thesis or treatise. |
| dissentient | adjective | Latin: dissentire ‘feel differently’, 17th c. | Expressing or holding a differing opinion. |
| dissipation | noun | Latin: dissipare ‘scatter’, 16th c. | Wasteful spending or excessive indulgence; scattering. |
| dissonance | noun | Latin: dis- + sonare ‘sound’, 16th c. | Lack of harmony or agreement; harsh combination of sounds. |
| dissuasion | noun | Latin: dissuadere ‘persuade otherwise’, 15th c. | Act of persuading someone not to do something. |
| distillation | noun | Latin: distillare ‘drop down’, 14th c. | Purification by vaporization and condensation; abstraction. |
| distinctiveness | noun | Latin: distinctus, 17th c. | Quality of being easily distinguished from others. |
| distinguishable | adjective | Latin: distinguere ‘separate’, 17th c. | Able to be recognized as different or unique. |
| distributional | adjective | Latin: distribuere ‘divide’, 19th c. | Relating to the way something is spread or allocated. |
| diversification | noun | Latin: diversificare ‘make different’, 19th c. | Process of increasing variety or spreading risk. |
| divination | noun | Latin: divinare ‘prophesy’, 14th c. | Practice of seeking knowledge of the future by supernatural means. |
Descriptions
dichotomy
Widely used in philosophy, science, and literary analysis to frame contrasting ideas or categories.
deleterious
Common in medicine, ecology, and policy writing to flag negative effects; formal register.
defenestration
Rarely literal; used rhetorically or historically to describe abrupt removals or political purges.
deferential
Polite, formal term useful in social-science writing and etiquette contexts.
deontology
Technical philosophical term central to moral theory and normative ethics discussions.
deontological
Used in ethics, law, and philosophy to contrast with consequentialist approaches.
decadent
Literary and cultural criticism term describing decline or excessive luxury.
deciduous
Botanical term; useful in ecology, gardening, and literary description.
decipherment
Used in linguistics, cryptography, and historical scholarship.
decorticate
Technical in botany, surgery, and anatomy; formal register.
decrepitude
Literary term for age-related decay or dilapidation.
definitive
Used in scholarship, editing, and reference to mark authoritative versions.
defenestrate
Historic and figurative use, often with dramatic or humorous tone.
demagogue
Political-science term for manipulative charismatic leaders.
demarcation
Used in law, geography, and conceptual distinctions.
demonstrable
Valuable in science, mathematics, and argumentation for provable claims.
demonstrative
Can describe emotional expressiveness or illustrative proofs.
demography
Core social-science and public-policy discipline for population trends.
demystification
Useful in pedagogy and popular science to simplify complex topics.
denouement
Literary term for the conclusion of stories or dramatic works.
denigrate
Used critically in rhetoric and social commentary.
denunciation
Common in legal, political, and moral contexts to signal censure.
denominational
Used in religion, education, and sociological classification.
dendrochronology
Technical method in archaeology, climatology, and environmental science.
delineate
Important for academic writing and analytical description.
deliberation
Used in law, government, and group decision-making contexts.
deliberative
Describes bodies or processes focused on reasoned decision-making.
delirium
Medical term used in psychiatry and acute-care settings.
delirious
Literary and medical uses; can be hyperbolic in everyday speech.
dematerialize
Used in technology, finance, and metaphoric writing.
denizen
Literary and legal term for residents or regulars in a locale.
deprecate
Common in formal critique and software documentation (deprecated).
deracinate
Used in history, sociology, and botanical contexts.
deregulation
Economic and policy term frequently used in political debate.
derivative
Common in art and finance (derivative instruments).
dereliction
Legal and literary usage; denotes neglect or failure.
derogation
Used in legal contexts and critical argument.
desiccation
Scientific term in biology, conservation, and food preservation.
desideratum
Formal term useful in academic proposals and philosophy.
despotism
Political-science and historical term for authoritarian regimes.
desuetude
Scholarly and legal writing often invokes it for obsolete customs.
desultory
Literary adjective for unfocused action or argumentation.
determinism
Philosophical and scientific term in metaphysics and psychology.
deterministic
Used in physics, computing, and philosophy to denote predictability.
detrimental
Formal word for negative impact in health, environment, and policy.
deuteragonist
Rare theatrical term for the secondary protagonist.
diabolical
Literary and emphatic term for malevolent behavior or cleverness.
diacritic
Linguistics and typography term for spellings and phonetics.
diagnostic
Common in medicine, engineering, and troubleshooting.
diagrammatic
Technical and pedagogical term for visual explanations.
dialectical
Used in philosophy, critical theory, and rhetoric.
diametrical
Strong term for stark contrasts in argument or character.
diaphanous
Poetic and literary descriptor for fabric or atmosphere.
didactic
Common in literary criticism; can be pejorative if overly moralizing.
dilapidated
Useful in descriptive writing about buildings and infrastructure.
dilettante
Often pejorative; contrasts amateurs with professionals.
dilatory
Used in legal and critical contexts to describe stalling tactics.
diminutive
Literary and linguistic term; also used in morphology.
diplomatic
Common in foreign relations and interpersonal contexts.
dipsomania
Historical medical term; now largely replaced by modern clinical terminology.
disambiguate
Useful in linguistics, programming, and editorial practice.
disappearance
Used in legal, literary, and mystery contexts.
disapprobation
Formal term in moral or social critique.
disconcerting
Useful in literary description and social analysis.
disconsolate
Poetic and emotional descriptor in narratives.
discordance
Used in music, sociology, and rhetoric.
discrepancy
Important in data analysis, auditing, and argument critique.
discriminatory
Used in law and human-rights discussions.
disenfranchise
Common in legal and historical contexts about voting rights.
disengagement
Used in military, political, and personal contexts.
disillusionment
Psychological and literary term describing loss of naiveté.
disingenuous
Used in critique of arguments, politicians, and rhetoric.
disinterested
Important in law, journalism, and scholarly contexts.
dislocation
Medical, geological, and social-science term for forced moves.
disparaging
Used in critique and polemical writing.
disparity
Central in social-justice, economics, and health disparities research.
dispassionate
Valued in scientific writing, law, and critical analysis.
dispensation
Used in religious, legal, and administrative contexts.
dissertation
Primary requirement for doctoral degrees and scholarly research.
dissentient
Used in legal and deliberative assemblies to mark opposition.
dissipation
Used in moral critique, economics, and physics (energy loss).
dissonance
Music-theory and cognitive-dissonance metaphor in psychology.
dissuasion
Common in rhetoric, counseling, and legal deterrence contexts.
distillation
Chemistry term and metaphor for extracting essence from complexity.
distinctiveness
Used in branding, biology, and stylistic analysis.
distinguishable
Useful in scientific measurement and literary characterization.
distributional
Statistical and economic term about patterns and allocation.
diversification
Important in business strategy, ecology, and finance.
divination
Historical and anthropological term; used in cultural studies.