Detersiveness noun The quality of cleansing.

Detest transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Detested ; present participle & verbal noun Detesting .] [ Latin detestare , detestatum , and detestari , to curse while calling a deity to witness, to execrate, detest; de + testari to be a witness, testify, testis a witness: confer French détester . See Testify .]
1. To witness against; to denounce; to condemn. [ Obsolete]

The heresy of Nestorius . . . was detested in the Eastern churches.

Fuller.

God hath detested them with his own mouth.

Bale.

2. To hate intensely; to abhor; to abominate; to loathe; as, we detest what is contemptible or evil.

Who dares think one thing, and another tell,
My heart detests him as the gates of hell.

Pope.

Syn. -- To abhor; abominate; execrate. See Hate .

Detestability noun Capacity of being odious. [ R.] Carlyle.

Detestable adjective [ Latin detestabilis : confer French détestable .] Worthy of being detested; abominable; extremely hateful; very odious; deserving abhorrence; as, detestable vices.

Thou hast defiled my sanctuary will all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations.

Ezek. v. 11.

Syn. -- Abominable; odious; execrable; abhorred.

Detestableness noun The quality or state of being detestable.

Detestably adverb In a detestable manner.

Detestate transitive verb To detest. [ Obsolete] Udall.

Detestation noun [ Latin detestatio : confer French détestation .] The act of detesting; extreme hatred or dislike; abhorrence; loathing.

We are heartily agreed in our detestation of civil war.

Burke.

Detester noun One who detests.

Dethrone (de*thrōn") transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Dethroned (-thrōnd"); present participle & verbal noun Dethroning .] [ Prefix de- + throne : confer French détrôner ; prefix dé- (L. dis- ) + trône throne. See Throne .] To remove or drive from a throne; to depose; to divest of supreme authority and dignity. "The Protector was dethroned ." Hume.

Dethronement noun [ Confer French détrônement .] Deposal from a throne; deposition from regal power.

Dethroner noun One who dethrones.

Dethronization noun Dethronement. [ Obsolete] Speed.

Dethronize transitive verb [ Confer Late Latin dethronizare .] To dethrone or unthrone. [ Obsolete] Cotgrave.

Detinue noun [ Old French detinu , detenu , past participle of detenir to detain. See Detain .] A person or thing detained ; (Law) A form of action for the recovery of a personal chattel wrongfully detained.

Writ of detinue (Law) , one that lies against him who wrongfully detains goods or chattels delivered to him, or in possession, to recover the thing itself, or its value and damages, from the detainer. It is now in a great measure superseded by other remedies.

Detonate intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Detonated ; present participle & verbal noun Detonating .] [ Latin detonare , intransitive verb , to thunder down; de + tonare to thunder; akin to English thunder . See Thunder , and confer Detonize .] To explode with a sudden report; as, niter detonates with sulphur.

Detonate transitive verb To cause to explode; to cause to burn or inflame with a sudden report.

Detonating adjective & noun from Detonate .

Detonating gas , a mixture of two volumes of hydrogen with one volume of oxygen, which explodes with a loud report upon ignition. -- Detonating powder , any powder or solid substance, as fulminate of mercury, which when struck, explodes with violence and a loud report. -- Detonating primer , a primer exploded by a fuse; -- used to explode gun cotton in blasting operations. -- Detonating tube , a strong tube of glass, usually graduated, closed at one end, and furnished with two wires passing through its sides at opposite points, and nearly meeting, for the purpose of exploding gaseous mixtures by an electric spark, as in gas analysis, etc.

Detonation (-nā"shŭn) noun [ Confer French détonation .] An explosion or sudden report made by the instantaneous decomposition or combustion of unstable substances; as, the detonation of gun cotton.

Detonator (dĕt"o*nā`tẽr) noun One who, or that which, detonates.

Detonator noun One that detonates ; specif.: (a) An explosive whose action is practically instantaneous. (b) Something used to detonate a charge, as a detonating fuse. (c) A case containing detonating powder, the explosion of which serves as a signal, as on railroads. (d) A gun fired by a percussion cap. [ Obsolete]

Detonization (dĕt`o*nĭ*zā"shŭn) noun The act of detonizing; detonation.

Detonize (dĕt"o*nīz) transitive verb & i. [ See Detonate .] [ imperfect & past participle Detonized ; present participle & verbal noun Detonizing .] To explode, or cause to explode; to burn with an explosion; to detonate.

Detorsion noun Same as Detortion .

Detort transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Detorted ; present participle & verbal noun Detorting .] [ Latin detortus , past participle of detorquere to turn away; de + torquere to turn about, twist: confer French détorquer , détordre .] To turn form the original or plain meaning; to pervert; to wrest. Hammond.

Detortion noun The act of detorting, or the state of being detorted; a twisting or warping.

Detour noun [ French détour , from détourner to turn aside; prefix dé- (L. dis- ) + tourner to turn. See Turn .] A turning; a circuitous route; a deviation from a direct course; as, the detours of the Mississippi.

Detract transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Detracted ; present participle & verbal noun Detracting .] [ Latin detractus , past participle of detrahere to detract; de + trahere to draw: confer French détracter . See Trace .]
1. To take away; to withdraw.

Detract much from the view of the without.

Sir H. Wotton.

2. To take credit or reputation from; to defame.

That calumnious critic . . .
Detracting what laboriously we do.

Drayton.

Syn. -- To derogate; decry; disparage; depreciate; asperse; vilify; defame; traduce. See Decry .

Detract intransitive verb To take away a part or something, especially from one's credit; to lessen reputation; to derogate; to defame; -- often with from .

It has been the fashion to detract both from the moral and literary character of Cicero.

V. Knox.

Detracter noun One who detracts; a detractor.

Other detracters and malicious writers.

Sir T. North.

Detractingly adverb In a detracting manner.

Detraction noun [ French détraction , Latin detractio .]
1. A taking away or withdrawing. [ Obsolete]

The detraction of the eggs of the said wild fowl.

Bacon.

2. The act of taking away from the reputation or good name of another; a lessening or cheapening in the estimation of others; the act of depreciating another, from envy or malice; calumny.

Syn. -- Depreciation; disparagement; derogation; slander; calumny; aspersion; censure.

Detractious adjective Containing detraction; detractory. [ R.] Johnson.

Detractive adjective
1. Tending to detract or draw. [ R.]

2. Tending to lower in estimation; depreciative.

Detractiveness noun The quality of being detractive.

Detractor noun [ Latin : confer French détracteur .] One who detracts; a derogator; a defamer.

His detractors were noisy and scurrilous.

Macaulay.

Syn. -- Slanderer; calumniator; defamer; vilifier.

Detractory adjective Defamatory by denial of desert; derogatory; calumnious. Sir T. Browne.

Detractress noun A female detractor. Addison.

Detrain intransitive verb & t. To alight, or to cause to alight, from a railway train. [ Eng.] London Graphic.

Detrect transitive verb [ Latin detrectare ; de + tractare , intens. of trahere to draw.] To refuse; to decline. [ Obsolete] "To detrect the battle." Holinshed.

Detriment (dĕt"rĭ*m e nt) noun [ Latin detrimentum , from deterere , detritum , to rub or wear away; de + terere to rub: confer French détriment . See Trite .]
1. That which injures or causes damage; mischief; harm; diminution; loss; damage; -- used very generically; as, detriments to property, religion, morals, etc.

I can repair
That detriment , if such it be.

Milton.

2. A charge made to students and barristers for incidental repairs of the rooms they occupy. [ Eng.]

Syn. -- Injury; loss; damage; disadvantage; prejudice; hurt; mischief; harm.

Detriment transitive verb To do injury to; to hurt. [ Archaic]

Other might be determined thereby.

Fuller.

Detrimental adjective Causing detriment; injurious; hurtful.

Neither dangerous nor detrimental to the donor.

Addison.

Syn. -- Injurious; hurtful; prejudicial; disadvantageous; mischievous; pernicious.

Detrimentalness noun The quality of being detrimental; injuriousness.

Detrital adjective (Geol.) Pertaining to, or composed of, detritus.

Detrite adjective [ Latin detritus , past participle ] Worn out.

Detrition noun [ Late Latin detritio . See Detriment .] A wearing off or away.

Phonograms which by process long-continued detrition have reached a step of extreme simplicity.

I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

Detritus noun [ French détritus , from Latin detritus , past participle of deterere . See Detriment .]
1. (Geol.) A mass of substances worn off from solid bodies by attrition, and reduced to small portions; as, diluvial detritus .

» For large portions, the word débris is used.

2. Hence: Any fragments separated from the body to which they belonged; any product of disintegration.

The mass of detritus of which modern languages are composed.

Farrar.

Detrude transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Detruded ; present participle & verbal noun Detruding .] [ Latin detrudere , detrusum ; de + trudere to thrust, push.] To thrust down or out; to push down with force. Locke.

Detruncate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Detruncated ; present participle & verbal noun Detruncating .] [ Latin detruncatus , past participle of detruncare to cut off; de + truncare to maim, shorten, cut off. See Truncate .] To shorten by cutting; to cut off; to lop off.