Deplete (verb) To reduce the amount of a resource, usually through continued or careless use.
Example: Decades of overfishing had depleted the region's cod population to a fraction of its former size.
Mnemonic: 'De-' (down/away) plus Latin 'plere' (to fill) — the opposite of filling up, deplete drains a supply toward empty.
Deprive (verb) To stop someone from having or enjoying something they need or want.
Example: The long power outage deprived the hospital of essential equipment for several hours.
Mnemonic: Think of de, meaning remove, plus private. To deprive someone is to take away what should rightfully be theirs.
Diligent (adjective) Showing careful and persistent effort.
Example: Her diligent studying paid off with a top score.
Mnemonic: Diligent = dedicated, steady effort applied consistently over time.
Discretion (noun) The careful judgment to say or do the right thing, especially about sensitive matters.
Example: The lawyer handled the scandal with great discretion, revealing nothing to the press.
Mnemonic: Think of discretion as knowing how to keep a 'secret' wisely and tactfully.
Disrupt (verb) To interrupt something and prevent it from continuing in its normal way.
Example: The transport strike disrupted train services across the entire city for two days.
Mnemonic: Dis, meaning apart, plus rupt, as in rupture. To disrupt is to break something apart while it is happening.
Dwindle (verb) To become gradually smaller or weaker over a period of time.
Example: The town's population has been dwindling steadily ever since the factory shut down.
Mnemonic: Picture a candle slowly dwindling down until only a tiny stub of wax remains.
Devise (verb) To plan or invent a new method, system, or object through careful thought.
Example: The engineers devised a clever way to cool the server room while using less electricity.
Mnemonic: Devise sounds like the wise. A wise person devises smart solutions to hard problems.
Disproportionate (adjective) Too large or too small in comparison to what is normal, fair, or expected.
Example: Critics argued the fine was disproportionate to the size of the small business's mistake.
Mnemonic: Dis, meaning not, plus proportionate. Something disproportionate is simply not in the correct proportion.
Eccentric (adjective) Behaving in an unconventional or slightly odd way that departs from common habits.
Example: The eccentric professor wore mismatched socks and kept a pet turtle in his office.
Mnemonic: Eccentric contains 'center' with ec-, meaning out of — someone eccentric is out of the center, off from the usual.
Eloquent (adjective) Fluent and persuasive in speaking or writing.
Example: Her eloquent speech moved the entire audience to tears.
Mnemonic: Contains 'loqu' (Latin: to speak, as in 'loquacious') — eloquent people speak beautifully.
Elusive (adjective) Hard to catch, find, achieve, or pin down clearly.
Example: A complete cure for the common cold has remained elusive despite decades of medical research.
Mnemonic: Related to 'elude' — something elusive keeps slipping just out of reach the moment you think you've grasped it.
Embark (verb) To begin a new project, journey, or activity, especially one that will take a long time.
Example: After graduation, she embarked on a career in renewable energy research.
Mnemonic: Embark once meant to step onto a ship, or bark. Today you embark on any new journey in life.
Enhance (verb) To improve the quality, value, or attractiveness of something.
Example: Adding subtitles can enhance a viewer's understanding of a foreign-language film.
Mnemonic: En, meaning to make, plus a sound like enhanced beauty. To enhance is to make something even better than before.
Envisage (verb) To imagine or picture something in your mind as a future possibility.
Example: City planners envisage a future in which most residents commute by bicycle.
Mnemonic: Envisage contains vis, as in vision. To envisage is to picture a vision of the future in your mind.
Eradicate (verb) To completely eliminate something, especially something harmful.
Example: A coordinated vaccination campaign helped eradicate smallpox worldwide by the late 1970s.
Mnemonic: 'E-' (out) plus Latin 'radix' (root, as in 'radish') — to eradicate is to pull something out by the roots so it cannot return.
Empirical (adjective) Based on observation or experiment rather than theory.
Example: The study provided empirical evidence that the drug worked.
Mnemonic: Think 'experience' — empirical knowledge comes from experience and experiments, not just ideas.
Ephemeral (adjective) Lasting for a very short time.
Example: The cherry blossoms' beauty is ephemeral, fading within a week.
Mnemonic: Think of a mayfly — some species live for only a single day, the definition of ephemeral.
Equitable (adjective) Fair to everyone involved, especially in how resources or opportunities are shared.
Example: The new grant guidelines were designed to ensure a more equitable distribution of research funding.
Mnemonic: Shares the Latin root 'aequus' (even) with 'equal' — an equitable outcome puts everyone on even footing.
Fabricate (verb) To invent or make up false information and present it as true.
Example: The intern was fired after admitting she fabricated the survey results.
Mnemonic: Fabricate contains 'fabric' — picture someone weaving a fabric of lies out of thin air.
Flourish (verb) To grow or develop very successfully and healthily.
Example: Small local businesses flourished once the new pedestrian street opened downtown.
Mnemonic: Flourish contains flour, a basic ingredient for bread. With the right ingredients, a business or plant can truly flourish.
Foster (verb) To encourage the growth or development of something over time.
Example: Group projects are designed to foster teamwork skills among university students.
Mnemonic: Just as foster parents nurture a child's growth, to foster an idea means to nurture and help it develop.
Fraught (adjective) Full of something unpleasant or difficult, such as danger, tension, or worry.
Example: The negotiations were fraught with tension after both sides refused to compromise.
Mnemonic: Fraught rhymes with caught. Imagine being caught in a situation fraught with problems you cannot escape.
Frivolous (adjective) Lacking seriousness or importance, often concerned with trivial pleasure instead.
Example: The judge dismissed the lawsuit, calling it a frivolous waste of the court's time.
Mnemonic: Frivolous sounds light and airy, almost like 'free of value' — concerned with things that carry no real weight.
Futile (adjective) Having no chance of succeeding and producing no useful result.
Example: Their attempts to repair the ancient engine proved futile, so they replaced it entirely.
Mnemonic: Futile sounds like few tools. Trying to fix something with far too few tools often ends up futile.
Falter (verb) To lose strength, confidence, or momentum, often causing hesitation or stumbling.
Example: The economy faltered in the final quarter as consumer spending dropped sharply.
Mnemonic: Falter sounds like a false start. When you falter, your steps become uncertain, like a runner who stumbles at the start.