Desmology Des·mol"o·gy noun [ Greek
desmo`s ligament +
-logy .]
The science which treats of the ligaments. [ R.]
Desmomyaria Des`mo·my·a"ri·a noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek ... bond + ... muscle.]
(Zoology) The division of Tunicata which includes the Salpæ. See Salpa .
Desolate Des"o·late adjective [ Latin
desolatus , past participle of
desolare to leave alone, forsake;
de- +
solare to make lonely,
solus alone. See
Sole ,
adjective ]
1. Destitute or deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited; hence, gloomy; as, a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness; a desolate house. I will make Jerusalem . . . a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate , without an inhabitant.
Jer. ix. 11. And the silvery marish flowers that throng
The desolate creeks and pools among.
Tennyson. 2. Laid waste; in a ruinous condition; neglected; destroyed; as, desolate altars. 3. Left alone; forsaken; lonely; comfortless. Have mercy upon, for I am desolate .
Ps. xxv. 16. Voice of the poor and desolate .
Keble. 4. Lost to shame; dissolute. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer. 5. Destitute of; lacking in. [ Obsolete]
I were right now of tales desolate .
Chaucer. Syn. -- Desert; uninhabited; lonely; waste.
Desolate Des"o·late transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Desolated ;
present participle & verbal noun Desolating .]
1. To make desolate; to leave alone; to deprive of inhabitants; as, the earth was nearly desolated by the flood. 2. To lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; as, a fire desolates a city. Constructed in the very heart of a desolating war.
Sparks.
Desolately Des"o·late·ly adverb In a desolate manner.
Desolateness Des"o·late·ness noun The state of being desolate.
Desolater Des"o·la`ter noun One who, or that which, desolates or lays waste. Mede.
Desolation Des`o·la"tion noun [ French
désolation , Latin
desolatio .]
1. The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. Unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan. ix. 26. 2. The state of being desolated or laid waste; ruin; solitariness; destitution; gloominess. You would have sold your king to slaughter, . . .
And his whole kingdom into desolation .
Shak. 3. A place or country wasted and forsaken. How is Babylon become a desolation !
Jer. l. 23. Syn. -- Waste; ruin; destruction; havoc; devastation; ravage; sadness; destitution; melancholy; gloom; gloominess.
Desolator Des"o·la`tor noun [ Latin ]
Same as Desolater . Byron.
Desolatory Des"o·la·to·ry adjective [ Latin
desolatorius .]
Causing desolation. [ R.]
Bp. Hall.
Desophisticate De`so·phis"ti·cate transitive verb To clear from sophism or error. [ R.]
Hare.
Desoxalic Des`ox·al"ic adjective [ French prefix
des- from + English
oxalic .]
(Chemistry) Made or derived from oxalic acid; as, desoxalic acid.
Despair De·spair" intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Despaired ;
present participle & verbal noun Despairing .] [ Middle English
despeiren ,
dispeiren , Old French
desperer , from Latin
desperare ;
de- +
sperare to hope; akin to
spes hope, and perhaps to
spatium space, English
space ,
speed ; confer Old French
espeir hope, French
espoir . Confer
Prosper ,
Desperate .]
To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation; -- often with of . We despaired even of life.
2 Cor. i. 8. Never despair of God's blessings here.
Wake. Syn. -- See
Despond .
Despair De·spair" transitive verb 1. To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of. [ Obsolete]
I would not despair the greatest design that could be attempted.
Milton. 2. To cause to despair. [ Obsolete]
Sir W. Williams.
Despair De·spair" noun [ Confer Old French
despoir , from
desperer .]
1. Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency. We in dark dreams are tossing to and fro,
Pine with regret, or sicken with despair .
Keble. Before he [ Bunyan] was ten, his sports were interrupted by fits of remorse and despair .
Macaulay. 2. That which is despaired of. "The mere
despair of surgery he cures."
Shak. Syn. -- Desperation; despondency; hopelessness.
Despairer De·spair"er noun One who despairs.
Despairful De·spair"ful adjective Hopeless. [ Obsolete]
Spenser.
Despairing De·spair"ing adjective Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless. --
De*spair"ing*ly ,
adverb --
De*spair"ing*ness ,
noun
Desparple De·spar"ple transitive verb & i. [ Old French
desparpeillier .]
To scatter; to disparkle. [ Obsolete]
Mandeville.
Despatch De·spatch" noun & v. Same as Dispatch .
Despecificate De`spe·cif"i·cate transitive verb [ Prefix
de- (intens.) +
specificate .]
To discriminate; to separate according to specific signification or qualities; to specificate; to desynonymize. [ R.]
Inaptitude and ineptitude have been usefully despecificated .
Fitzed. Hall.
Despecification De·spec`i·fi·ca"tion noun Discrimination.
Despect De·spect" noun [ Latin
despectus , from
despicere . See
Despite ,
noun ]
Contempt. [ R.]
Coleridge.
Despection De·spec"tion noun [ Latin
despectio .]
A looking down; a despising. [ R.]
W. Montagu.
Despeed De·speed" transitive verb To send hastily. [ Obsolete]
Despeeded certain of their crew.
Speed.
Despend De·spend" transitive verb To spend; to squander. See Dispend . [ Obsolete]
Some noble men in Spain can despend £50,000.
Howell.
Desperado Des`per·a"do noun ;
plural Desperadoes . [ OSp.
desperado , past participle of
desperar , from Latin
desperare . See
Desperate .]
A reckless, furious man; a person urged by furious passions, and regardless of consequence; a wild ruffian.
Desperate Des"per·ate adjective [ Latin
desperatus , past participle of
desperare . See
Despair , and confer
Desperado .]
1. Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [ Obsolete]
I am desperate of obtaining her.
Shak. 2. Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous; as, a desperate disease; desperate fortune. 3. Proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious; as, a desperate effort. "
Desperate expedients."
Macaulay. 4. Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous; -- used to mark the extreme predominance of a bad quality. A desperate offendress against nature.
Shak. The most desperate of reprobates.
Macaulay. Syn. -- Hopeless; despairing; desponding; rash; headlong; precipitate; irretrievable; irrecoverable; forlorn; mad; furious; frantic.
Desperate Des"per·ate noun One desperate or hopeless. [ Obsolete]
Desperately Des"per·ate·ly adverb In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly; extremely; as, the troops fought desperately . She fell desperately in love with him.
Addison.
Desperateness Des"per·ate·ness noun Desperation; virulence.
Desperation Des`per·a"tion noun [ Latin
desperatio : confer Old French
desperation .]
1. The act of despairing or becoming desperate; a giving up of hope. This desperation of success chills all our industry.
Hammond. 2. A state of despair, or utter hopeless; abandonment of hope; extreme recklessness; reckless fury. In the desperation of the moment, the officers even tried to cut their way through with their swords.
W. Irving.
Despicability Des`pi·ca·bil"i·ty noun Despicableness. [ R.]
Carlyle.
Despicable Des"pi·ca·ble adjective [ Latin
despicabilis , from
despicari to despise; akin to
despicere . See
Despise .]
Fit or deserving to be despised; contemptible; mean; vile; worthless; as, a despicable man; despicable company; a despicable gift. Syn. -- Contemptible; mean; vile; worthless; pitiful; paltry; sordid; low; base. See
Contemptible .
Despicableness Des"pi·ca·ble·ness noun The quality of being despicable; meanness; vileness; worthlessness.
Despicably Des"pi·ca·bly adverb In a despicable or mean manner; contemptibly; as, despicably stingy.
Despiciency Des·pi"cien·cy noun [ Latin
despicientia . See
Despise .]
A looking down; despection. [ Obsolete]
Despisable De·spis"a·ble adjective [ Confer Old French
despisable .]
Despicable; contemptible. [ R.]
Despisal De·spis"al noun A despising; contempt. [ R.]
A despisal of religion.
South.
Despise De·spise" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Despised ;
present participle & verbal noun Despising .] [ Old French
despis- , in some forms of
despire to despise, from Latin
despicere ,
despectum , to look down upon, despise;
de- +
spicere ,
specere , to look. See
Spy , and confer
Despicable ,
Despite .]
To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prointransitive verb 7. Men naturally despise those who court them, but respect those who do not give way to them.
Jowett (Thucyd. ). Syn. -- To contemn; scorn; disdain; slight; undervalue. See
Contemn .
Despisedness De·spis"ed·ness noun The state of being despised.
Despisement De·spise"ment noun A despising. [ R.]
Holland.
Despiser De·spis"er noun One who despises; a contemner; a scorner.
Despisingly De·spis"ing·ly adverb Contemptuously.
Despite De·spite" noun [ Old French
despit , French
dépit , from Latin
despectus contempt, from
despicere . See
Despise , and confer
Spite ,
Despect .]
1. Malice; malignity; spite; malicious anger; contemptuous hate. With all thy despite against the land of Israel.
Ezek. xxv. 6. 2. An act of malice, hatred, or defiance; contemptuous defiance; a deed of contempt. A despite done against the Most High.
Milton. In despite ,
in defiance of another's power or inclination. --
In despite of ,
in defiance of; in spite of. See under Spite . "Seized my hand
in despite of my efforts to the contrary."
W. Irving. --
In your despite ,
in defiance or contempt of you; in spite of you. [ Obsolete]
Despite De·spite" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Despited ;
present participle & verbal noun Despiting .] [ Old French
despitier , from Latin
despectare , intens. of
despicere . See
Despite ,
noun ]
To vex; to annoy; to offend contemptuously. [ Obsolete]
Sir W. Raleigh.
Despite De·spite" preposition In spite of; against, or in defiance of; notwithstanding; as, despite his prejudices. Syn. -- See
Notwithstanding .
Despiteful De·spite"ful adjective [ See
Despite , and confer
Spiteful .]
Full of despite; expressing malice or contemptuous hate; malicious. --
De*spite"ful*ly ,
adverb --
De*spite"ful*ness ,
noun Haters of God, despiteful , proud, boasters.
Rom. i. 30. Pray for them which despitefully use you.
Matt. v. 44. Let us examine him with despitefulness and fortune.
Book of Wisdom ii. 19.
Despiteous Des·pit"e·ous adjective [ Middle English
despitous , Old French
despiteus , from
despit ; affected in form by English
piteous . See
Despite .]
Feeling or showing despite; malicious; angry to excess; cruel; contemptuous. [ Obsolete] "
Despiteous reproaches."
Holland.
Despiteously Des·pit"e·ous·ly adverb Despitefully. [ Obsolete]