Page 82 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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D

damage (DAM ij) n. 1. injury or harm, resulting in a loss of soundness or value;
2. (pl.) (law) money claimed by or ordered paid to a person to compensate for
injury or loss —vt. to do harm to —vi. to incur harm
• Marla received damage to her neck when she skied off the main slope and
into a nearby compost heap.
• Claiming that the compost heap should not have been so close to the
slope, Marla sued the ski lodge for damages.
• When he hit the lamppost, Jakob damaged his tricycle.
• Freddy’s ear was damaged when the newspaper carrier hit it with the
Sunday paper.
[-d, damaging] [Syn. injure]
daze (DAYZ) vt. 1. to stun, stupefy, or bewilder as by a shock or blow to the
head; 2. to dazzle —n. a stunned condition
• The bright headlamps dazed the deer as she momentarily froze in her
tracks.
• Bumping his head dazed Ian just long enough to permit his prisoner to slip
away unnoticed.
• After having survived frightful conditions while marooned on the island,
the newly rescued sailor wandered around in a daze.
[-dly adv.]
debacle (di BAK il) n. 1. a torrent of debris-filled waters; 2. an overwhelming
defeat or route; 3. a total, often ludicrous, collapse or failure
• After the dam burst, a debacle descended on the farms and villages below.
• Napoleon never recovered from his Battle of Waterloo debacle.
• The Bible tells of the debacle that resulted from man’s attempt to build the
Tower of Babel.
debatable (di BAYT i bl) adj. 1. arguable, having pros and cons on both sides;
2. something that can be questioned or disputed; 3. in dispute, as land claimed by
two countries
• Whether the country’s economy does better under Republicans or
Democrats is highly debatable.
• Whether the next Oscar really will go to the best picture of this year is
debatable.
• The ownership of Kashmir is debatable because it is claimed by both India
and Pakistan.
debunk (di BUHNK) vt. to expose the false or exaggerated claims, pretensions,
glamour, etc. of con artists and charlatans
• Some people take it as their life’s work to debunk the schemes of con artists.
• The self-proclaimed Great Randi has debunked many so-called mentalists by
revealing their deceptions.
[-ed, -ing, -er n.]

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