<B>depth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the distance from top to bottom. <BR> <I>Ex. the depth of a hole. The depth of the lake was so great we could not see the bottom.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the distance from front to back. <BR> <I>Ex. The depth of our playground is 250 feet.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a deep place. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) From a depth of unrecorded time (Shelley).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the deepest part. <BR> <I>Ex. in the depths of the earth, (Figurative.) the depths of one's heart.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>the most central part; middle. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) in the depth of winter. He was lost in the depth of the forest.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>the quality or condition of being deep; deepness. <BR> <I>Ex. The other students admired his depth of understanding.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(Figurative.) intensity (of feelings, interest, or the like). <BR> <I>Ex. The boy's depth of interest in trains was so great he spent all his time reading about them.</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>(Figurative.) deep understanding; profoundness; profundity. <BR> <I>Ex. A philosopher should have depth of mind. The story has a good plot but it has no depth at all.</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>lowness of pitch. <DD><B> 10. </B>(Figurative.) intensity, as of color, silence, or darkness. <BR><I>expr. <B>beyond</B> (or <B>out of</B>) <B>one's depth,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>in water too deep for safety. </I> <I>Ex. He remained three hours in the water, afraid to move, lest he should get out of his depth (Pall Mall Gazette).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>beyond one's ability to understand or do. <BR> <I>Ex. Launch not beyond your depth, but be discreet (Alexander Pope).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in depth,</B> </I>going below the surface; penetrating; extensive; deep. <BR> <I>Ex. analysis in depth. During the extra time he hopes to do more stories in depth and features related to the news (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthbomb">
<B>depth bomb,</B> <B>=depth charge.</B></DL>
<A NAME="depthbomb">
<B>depth-bomb, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to bomb with a depth charge or charges. <BR> <I>Ex. to depth-bomb a submarine.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthcharge">
<B>depth charge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an explosive charge dropped from a ship or airplane and set to explode at a certain depth under water. It is used especially against submarines. </DL>
<B>depth finder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument for measuring the depth of water, especially by means of sonar. <BR> <I>Ex. Commercial fishermen are using acoustic finders patterned after the Navy depth finders to locate schools of fish (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthgauge">
<B>depth gauge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an apparatus for the precise measurement of the depth of a hole or recess, or of the height of a projection above a plane surface. </DL>
<A NAME="depthindicator">
<B>depth indicator,</B> <B>=fathometer.</B></DL>
<A NAME="depthinterview">
<B>depth interview,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an interview that seeks fuller explanations and more personal responses than those obtained by means of questionnaires. <BR> <I>Ex. Depth interviews uncovered the motivational and emotional reasons why doctors use some publications more than others (Drug Trade News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthless">
<B>depthless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>without depth; shallow. <BR> <I>Ex. Even when the clouds of gauze parted, it was to reveal the frustrating depthless world seen with one eye (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of immeasurable depth; fathomless. <BR> <I>Ex. the depthless ocean.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>superficial. <BR> <I>Ex. the banal chatter of a trivial, depthless character.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthoffield">
<B>depth of field,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Photography.) the distance between the nearest and farthest objects clearly focused by a lens at a given opening. <BR> <I>Ex. If extremely sharp definition of the image is not essential, there is evidently a certain range of object distances, called the depth of field, such that all objects within this range are simultaneously "in focus" (Sears and Zemansky).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthperception">
<B>depth perception,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the ability to judge the distance and relation of distant things to each other and to the observer. <BR> <I>Ex. The old yardsticks, such as reaction time, depth perception, coordination and general intelligence, have little value in differentiating the safe from the unsafe driver (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthpsychology">
<B>depth psychology,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the study or analysis of unconscious mental processes; psychoanalysis. <BR> <I>Ex. Within the field of psychology, the special branch that concerns itself with the relation between mental illness and the creative development of personality is depth psychology (Ira Progoff).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depthsounder">
<B>depth sounder,</B> <B>=depth finder.</B></DL>
<A NAME="depurate">
<B>depurate, </B>verb, <B>-rated,</B> <B>-rating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to purify; cleanse. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become purified. </DL>
<A NAME="depuration">
<B>depuration, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of purifying or cleansing. <BR> <I>Ex. the depuration of a wound.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="depurative">
<B>depurative, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> purifying; cleansing. <DD><I>noun </I> a purifying agent or medicine. </DL>
<A NAME="depurator">
<B>depurator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that cleanses. </DL>
<A NAME="depurge">
<B>depurge, </B>transitive verb, <B>-purged,</B> <B>-purging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to restore to favor, especially by official pardon. <BR> <I>Ex. to depurge a war criminal.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deputable">
<B>deputable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be deputed. </DL>
<A NAME="deputation">
<B>deputation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a group of persons sent to represent others; delegation. <BR> <I>Ex. The factory workers appointed a deputation of their fellows to bargain for higher pay.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the act of deputing. <BR> <I>Ex. The deputation of committee functions was the duty of the chairman.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) appointment or assignment to an office or function. </DL>
<A NAME="depute">
<B>depute, </B>transitive verb, <B>-puted,</B> <B>-puting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to appoint to do one's work or to act in one's place; delegate. <BR> <I>Ex. The teacher deputed a pupil to take charge of the room while she was gone.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to give (one's work, authority, responsibility, or obligation) to another; transfer. <BR> <I>Ex. The owner deputed the repair of the building to his partner.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deputise">
<B>deputise, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-tised,</B> <B>-tising.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially British.) deputize. <BR> <I>Ex. He will assist generally in the running of the factory and deputise for him in his absence (Sunday Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deputize">
<B>deputize, </B>verb, <B>-tized,</B> <B>-tizing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to appoint as deputy. <BR> <I>Ex. He was deputized as sheriff for three months.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to act as deputy. </DL>
<A NAME="deputy">
<B>deputy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person appointed to do the work of or to take the place of another. <BR> <I>Ex. The sheriff appointed special deputies to help him enforce the law.</I> (SYN) proxy, delegate, agent. <DD><B> 2. </B>an assistant to certain public officials. <BR> <I>Ex. the deputy mayor of New York.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a representative in certain lawmaking assemblies. <BR> <I>Ex. In France, the citizens elect deputies to the lower house of the national legislative body, formerly called the Chamber of Deputies.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(British.) an inspector of safety in a coal mine. <BR> <I>Ex. The deputies ... test the beams and other protective appliances (Daily News).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> acting as a deputy. </DL>
<A NAME="deputyship">
<B>deputyship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the office or position of a deputy. </DL>
<B>deracialization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the elimination of racial characteristics or features. </DL>
<A NAME="deracialize">
<B>deracialize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to remove racial characteristics, qualities, or attitudes from. <BR> <I>Ex. to deracialize a group, a segregated school, etc.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deracinate">
<B>deracinate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-nated,</B> <B>-nating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to tear up by the roots; uproot; eradicate; exterminate. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Neither arms, nor victories [were] able to deracinate or root out this doctrine (B. Harris).</I> </DL>
<B>deracine, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><I>adj. </I> uprooted from one's native or natural environment; displaced. <BR> <I>Ex. For if ever there was a nation that is deracine, uprooted from its traditional ties and anchorages, it is post-war Germany (Atlantic).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> an uprooted or displaced individual. <BR> <I>Ex. A deracine, a man who has been torn up by the roots, cannot be replanted (Listener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deradicalize">
<B>deradicalize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to cause to abandon or retreat from radicalism. <BR> <I>Ex. Today Obst's cigars are longer than his hair, and he admits that hobnobbing with publishing fat cats has tended to deradicalize him (Newsweek).</I> noun <B>deradicalization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="deraign">
<B>deraign, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Obsolete.) <DD><B> 1. </B>(Law.) <DD><B> a. </B>to dispute or contest (a claim), especially by wager of battle. <DD><B> b. </B>to prove or vindicate (a right), especially by wager of battle. <DD><B> 2a. </B>to arrange (an army) for battle. <DD><B> b. </B>to set (troops) in battle array. </DL>
<A NAME="deraignment">
<B>deraignment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Obsolete.) a deraigning or being deraigned. </DL>
