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disillusioned adj. (DIS i LOO szhund) disturbed by a previously unseen reality. With so much dishonesty and scandal, it is easy to become disillusioned with politics.

disparage vb. (dis PAIR ij) to criticize and put down. If you plan to disparage someone in print, be careful not to slander or libel.

disparity n. (dis PAIR uh tee) a state of inequality.

There is too often a disparity between what one says and what one does.

disseminate vb. (di SEM uh nayt) to distribute or broadcast. We will disseminate the information as soon as it comes off the press.

dissension n. (di SEN shun) disagreement. There is often great dissension between Democrats and Republicans.

dissertation n. (DI sur TAY shun) a lengthy and involved academic report or treatise, based on orig­inal research; a thesis. Writing a dissertation is a requirement of one seeking a doctorate.

dissident n. (DIS uh dent) one who disagrees. The dictator threatened to throw all dissidents in prison.

dissipate vb. (DIS uh PAYT) to thin or peter out; to exhaust. The snow is finally beginning to dissipate.

dissuade vb. (dis WAYD) to talk out of; to discour­age. Unless you're in top physical condition, I would try to dissuade you from climbing Mount Everest.

divest vb. (di VEST) to strip or remove; to sell off one's investment. With Wall Street turning decidedly bearish, it might be a good time to divest oneself of stocks.

docile adj. (DOS ul) gentle; tame and easy to handle or train. Thankfully, my horse was docile and never bucked.

dogged adj. (DOG id) tenacious and persistent; stubborn. To finish a marathon, you must be abso­lutely dogged.

dogma n. (DOG muh) a strong belief, principle, moral, or set of morals. The zealous are often blind to their own causes and dogmas.

dogmatic adj. (dog MAT ik) clinging tenaciously to one's own beliefs and refusing to consider other viewpoints. It's never wise to be dogmatic; always question your own beliefs and those of others.

dormant adj. (DOOR munt) not active; in a state of sleep. The dormant volcano hadn't erupted for more than two hundred years.

double-blind test n. a medical test in which nei­ther the administrators nor the test subjects know who is receiving placebos (sham treatments) and who is receiving real medicine, the object of which is to measure efficacy without influence of bias. The university conducted a double-blind test on eighty- three subjects and discovered, to their horror, that placebos worked just as well as their experimental medicine.

double entendre n. (DUB ul on TON druh) an ambiguous statement that can be understood in either a perfectly innocent way or in a naughty way. The comedian was restricted from swearing and telling blatantly offensive jokes, so he used a lot of subtle double entendres to get laughs.