<B>desert</B> (1), noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>a barren region with little or no rainfall, usually sandy and without trees. The Sahara is a great desert in the northern part of Africa. <DD><B> b. </B>a barren region with little or no vegetation because of cold, perpetual snow, or ice. <BR> <I>Ex. Physiologically the Antarctic is a desert, the air is extremely dry and the surface frozen (Gabriele Rabel).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a region that is not inhabited or cultivated; wilderness. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a place or environment lacking intellectual or spiritual stimulation. <BR> <I>Ex. a cultural desert.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>dry and barren. <BR> <I>Ex. Arabia is largely desert land. The board would build dams to harness electrical power and irrigate desert wastelands (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>not inhabited or cultivated; wild. <BR> <I>Ex. Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on a desert island.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) deserted; abandoned. </DL>
<A NAME="desert">
<B>desert</B> (2), transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to go away and leave (a person or a place, especially one that should not be left); forsake. <BR> <I>Ex. A husband should not desert his wife and children. After the family deserted the farm, its buildings fell into ruin.</I> (SYN) abandon. <DD><B> 2. </B>to run away from (duty); leave without permission and without intending to return. <BR> <I>Ex. The young boy deserted the army because he was afraid.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to fail (one) when needed; leave. <BR> <I>Ex. His self-confidence deserted him.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to run away from duty. <DD><B> 2. </B>to leave military service without permission and without intending to return. <BR> <I>Ex. A soldier who deserts is punished.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="desert">
<B>desert</B> (3), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>Usually, <B>deserts.</B> what one deserves; suitable reward or punishment. <BR> <I>Ex. The reckless driver got his just deserts when he was fined and his driver's license was suspended. The characters of great men ... sooner or later receive the wages of fame or infamy according to their true deserts (William Cowper).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>meritoriousness; excellence; worth. <BR> <I>Ex. The greatest desert cannot be pleaded in answer to a charge of ... transgression (Macaulay).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the act or fact of deserving. </DL>
<A NAME="desertboot">
<B>desert boot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a loose-fitting suede shoe reaching just above the ankle and now usually loosely laced, originally worn by soldiers in North Africa. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>Desert boot,</B> a trademark for this or a similar type of casual shoe. </DL>
<A NAME="deserted">
<B>deserted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> abandoned; forsaken. <BR> <I>Ex. The deserted house fell into ruins.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deserter">
<B>deserter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who deserts. <DD><B> 2. </B>a soldier or sailor who runs away from duty or leaves military service without permission and without intending to return. </DL>
<A NAME="desertfox">
<B>desert fox,</B> <B>=kit fox.</B></DL>
<A NAME="desertholly">
<B>desert holly,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small, dense shrub of the goosefoot family, found in the deserts of southwestern North America and in Mexico. The spiny foliage is used for decoration at Christmastime. </DL>
<A NAME="desertic">
<B>desertic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a desert or deserts. </DL>
<A NAME="desertification">
<B>desertification, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the process of turning into arid or desert land. <BR> <I>Ex. Desertification is thought to result more from land mismanagement than from uncontrollable climatic changes (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="desertion">
<B>desertion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of deserting. <DD><B> 2. </B>the condition of being deserted; desolation. <BR> <I>Ex. Desertion caused the old house to fall into ruin.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a running away from duty. <DD><B> 4. </B>a leaving military service without permission and without intending to return. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Law.) intentional abandonment of one's wife or husband in violation of legal or moral obligation. </DL>
<A NAME="desertlark">
<B>desert lark,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any of various larks native to Asian and African deserts. </DL>
<A NAME="desertless">
<B>desertless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>without reward or merit. <DD><B> 2. </B>undeserving. <BR> <I>Ex. O miserable and desertless that I am (Algernon Charles Swinburne).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="desertlily">
<B>desert lily,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a lily with long, narrow leaves and showy flowers, found in flat, dry areas of the southwestern United States. </DL>
<A NAME="desertlocust">
<B>desert locust,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very destructive migratory locust found in northern Africa and in Asia Minor. </DL>
<A NAME="desertrat">
<B>desert rat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any rat adapted to life in the desert, such as a kangaroo rat. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Slang.) a prospector in the deserts of the western United States. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Slang.) a soldier who fought in northern Africa during World War II. </DL>
<A NAME="desertvarnish">
<B>desert varnish,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a glossy coating of iron oxide and other chemicals found on rocks and pebbles after long exposure in desert regions. </DL>
<A NAME="deserve">
<B>deserve, </B>verb, <B>-served,</B> <B>-serving.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to have a right to; have a claim to; be worthy of; merit. <BR> <I>Ex. A hard worker deserves good pay. One good turn deserves another.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to be worthy. noun <B>deserver.</B> </DL>
<B>deservedly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> according to what is deserved; justly; rightly. <BR> <I>Ex. The criminal was deservedly punished.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deservedness">
<B>deservedness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of having deserved; worthiness. </DL>
<A NAME="deserving">
<B>deserving, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>that deserves; worthy (of something). <BR> <I>Ex. Those thieves are deserving of punishment.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>worth helping. <BR> <I>Ex. The deserving student received a scholarship.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> what is deserved; deserts; merit. adv. <B>deservingly.</B> noun <B>deservingness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="desex">
<B>desex, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to deprive of sexual characteristics. <DD><B> 2. </B>to remove the reproductive organs of. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S.) to remove sexual or sexist references from. </DL>
<A NAME="desexualization">
<B>desexualization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act or process of desexing. </DL>
<A NAME="desexualize">
<B>desexualize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to desex. </DL>
<A NAME="deshabille">
<B>deshabille, </B>noun. <B>=dishabille.</B></DL>
<A NAME="desiccant">
<B>desiccant, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> an agent or drug that dries or desiccates. <DD><I>adj. </I> drying; desiccating. </DL>
<A NAME="desiccate">
<B>desiccate, </B>verb, <B>-cated,</B> <B>-cating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1a. </B>to deprive of moisture or water; dry thoroughly; dry. <BR> <I>Ex. The soil in a desert is desiccated by the dry air and sun.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) to make intellectually or spiritually dry. <BR> <I>Ex. that desiccated and discouraged brain (Lytton Strachey).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to preserve by drying thoroughly; dehydrate. <BR> <I>Ex. desiccated fruit.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become dry. </DL>
<A NAME="desiccation">
<B>desiccation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the action of desiccating or a desiccated condition. <BR> <I>Ex. Thus the powder kills through desiccation, literally drying the insect to death (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="desiccative">
<B>desiccative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> tending to desiccate or dry; desiccant. </DL>
<A NAME="desiccator">
<B>desiccator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that desiccates. <DD><B> 2. </B>an apparatus for drying fruit, milk, or other foodstuffs, or for absorbing moisture in a chemical. </DL>
<B>desiderata, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>desideratum.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="desiderate">
<B>desiderate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to feel a desire for; long for; feel the want of; want. <BR> <I>Ex. ... he desiderated something more on a level with himself (Cardinal Newman).</I> </DL>
<B>desiderative, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>having or expressing desire; having to do with desire. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Grammar.) (of a verb) formed from and expressing desire to do the action implied in another verb. <DD><I>noun </I> (Grammar.) a desiderative verb. </DL>
<A NAME="desideratum">
<B>desideratum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ta.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> something desired or needed. <BR> <I>Ex. Health, security, and affection are desiderata. The only desideratum was a harpsichord to give vitality and bite to the strings (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="desiderium">
<B>desiderium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-deria.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a longing or ardent desire, as for something once possessed and now missed; a painful sense of loss. </DL>
<A NAME="desight">
<B>desight, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a thing unpleasant to look at; eyesore. </DL>
