<B>devil theorist,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who believes in or favors a devil theory. </DL>
<A NAME="deviltheory">
<B>devil theory,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any theory that attributes historical and other calamities to the actions of selfish individuals in power rather than to impersonal forces or causes. <BR> <I>Ex. Nothing so inexorably kills the liberty of the mind as a devil theory of history, inspiring as it must a search for the devil and proscription of his views (Tom Wicker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deviltree">
<B>devil tree,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large tropical evergreen tree with soft white wood, a bitter bark, and a milky juice. </DL>
<A NAME="deviltry">
<B>deviltry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-tries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>evil action; wicked mischief. <DD><B> 2. </B>mischievous or daring behavior. <BR> <I>Ex. The boys were full of deviltry on Halloween.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>great cruelty or wickedness. <DD><B> 4. </B>diabolical magic or art. </DL>
<A NAME="devilwood">
<B>devilwood, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small evergreen tree of the olive family, having hard, close-grained wood, of the southern United States. </DL>
<A NAME="devious">
<B>devious, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>out of the direct way; winding; twisting; roundabout. <BR> <I>Ex. We took a devious route through side streets and alleys to avoid the crowded main streets.</I> (SYN) circuitous, tortuous, rambling. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) straying from the right course; not straightforward; going astray. <BR> <I>Ex. His devious nature was shown in half lies and small dishonesties.</I> (SYN) erring, sinful. adv. <B>deviously.</B> noun <B>deviousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="devirginate">
<B>devirginate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to deprive of virginity or virginal character. <BR> <I>Ex. Last century, virgin land typified the American myth; devirginated America is today's symbol (J. Wreford Watson).</I> </DL>
<B>devirilize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to deprive of virility or vitality; devitalize. <DD><B> 2. </B>to deprive of masculine qualities. </DL>
<A NAME="devisable">
<B>devisable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that can be devised or contrived. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Law.) that can be devised or bequeathed, as real property. </DL>
<A NAME="devisal">
<B>devisal, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of devising; contrivance; invention. </DL>
<A NAME="devise">
<B>devise, </B>verb, <B>-vised,</B> <B>-vising,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to think out; plan or contrive; intent. <BR> <I>Ex. The boys are trying to devise a scheme for earning money during the summer vacation. He devised a way of raising boards up to the roof by using a pulley.</I> (SYN) concoct, concert, excogitate. <DD><B> 2. </B>to give or leave (land, buildings, or other property) by a will. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) to divide; separate; distribute. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) to conceive; imagine; guess. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to contrive; plan. <BR> <I>Ex. The captain was always devising how to get the mate into trouble.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to imagine; guess. <BR> <I>Ex. I ... love thee better than thou canst devise (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> (Law.) <B>1. </B>a giving or leaving land, buildings, or other property, by a will. <DD><B> 2. </B>a will or part of a will doing this. <DD><B> 3. </B>property, especially real property, given or left in this way. </DL>
<A NAME="devisee">
<B>devisee, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) a person to whom land, buildings, or other property, are given or left by a will. </DL>
<A NAME="deviser">
<B>deviser, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who devises; inventor; contriver. </DL>
<A NAME="devisor">
<B>devisor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) a person who gives or leaves land, buildings, or other property, by a will. </DL>
<A NAME="devisu">
<B>de visu,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) from or by sight. </DL>
<A NAME="devitalization">
<B>devitalization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or process of devitalizing. <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being devitalized. <BR> <I>Ex. This devitalization of the governing power is the malady of democratic states (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="devitalize">
<B>devitalize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to take the life of; kill. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make less vital; weaken; exhaust. <BR> <I>Ex. The times demand a renaissance in freedom of thought and freedom of expression, a renaissance that will end the orthodoxy that is threatening to devitalize us (William O. Douglas).</I> (SYN) debilitate. </DL>
<A NAME="devitaminize">
<B>devitaminize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to remove the vitamins from. </DL>
<A NAME="devitrifiable">
<B>devitrifiable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> capable of being devitrified. </DL>
<A NAME="devitrification">
<B>devitrification, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the action or process of depriving of vitreous character, especially the molecular change (of rocks) from a glassy to a crystalline condition. </DL>
<A NAME="devitrify">
<B>devitrify, </B>transitive verb, <B>-fied,</B> <B>-fying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to deprive of vitreous character or properties. <DD><B> 2. </B>to cause (glass or a vitreous substance) to become opaque, hard, and crystalline in structure. </DL>
<B>devocalize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Phonetics.) to deprive of vocal or sonant qualities; unvoice. noun <B>devocalization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="devoice">
<B>devoice, </B>transitive verb, <B>-voiced,</B> <B>-voicing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Phonetics.) to devocalize; unvoice. <BR> <I>Ex. Some speakers now devoice sounds which are historically "d" sounds (W. P. Lehman).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="devoid">
<B>devoid, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> entirely without or wanting; empty; lacking; destitute (of). <BR> <I>Ex. A well devoid of water is useless. He is the total amateur, totally lacking in imagination, totally devoid of any technical skill (John Canaday).</I> (SYN) vacant, void. </DL>
<A NAME="devoir">
<B>devoir, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>Usually, <B>devoirs.</B> an act of civility or respect. <BR> <I>Ex. We paid our devoirs to our host.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) duty; appointed task. </DL>
<A NAME="devolution">
<B>devolution, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>progression from stage to stage. <DD><B> 2. </B>the transmitting or passing of property from person to person. <DD><B> 3. </B>the passing on to a successor of any unexercised right. <DD><B> 4a. </B>the delegating (of duty, responsibility, or authority) to another. <DD><B> b. </B>(in British politics) the granting of self-government to a division of the United Kingdom, especially to Scotland or Wales, and formerly in the 1800's to Ireland. <BR> <I>Ex. Their [Labour Government in London] answer, to be offered in detailed legislation soon is "devolution"--the granting of selected powers to a new and locally elected Scottish Assembly (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Biology.) reversed evolution; degeneration. <BR> <I>Ex. Regression or devolution and extinction are quite as much a part of the total record as is progression (Beals and Hoijer).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="devolutionary">
<B>devolutionary, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with devolution. </DL>
<A NAME="devolutionist">
<B>devolutionist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who supports the transfer of governmental authority from a higher to a lower level. </DL>
<A NAME="devolve">
<B>devolve, </B>verb, <B>-volved,</B> <B>-volving.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to be handed down to someone else; be transferred. <BR> <I>Ex. If the president is unable to handle his duties,they devolve upon the vice-president. Her functions had now devolved upon the Prince, and in 1844, he boldly attacked the problem (Lytton Strachey).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) to roll or flow down. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to transfer (duty, work, or responsibility) to someone else. <BR> <I>Ex. ... those who, because they are too busy or too ignorant to discharge the higher duties of self-government, have been glad to devolve them upon their representatives (Charles H. Pearson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) to roll down; cause to descend with a rolling motion. </DL>
<A NAME="devolvement">
<B>devolvement, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of devolving. </DL>
<A NAME="devon">
<B>Devon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a breed of small, robust cattle originally from Devon, England. </DL>
<A NAME="devonian">
<B>Devonian, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a native or inhabitant of Devon, England. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Geology.) <DD><B> a. </B>the period of the Paleozoic era, after the Silurian and before the Carboniferous; Age of Fishes. It was characterized by the appearance of amphibians, wingless insects, and by an abundance of primitive fish, great expansion in the numbers and kinds of corals, and the presence of primitive trees. <DD><B> b. </B>the rocks formed during this period. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with Devon, England. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Geology.) of or having to do with the Devonian or its rocks. <BR> <I>Ex. During Devonian times ... mountains arose and much more of the land moved upward out of the water (Fred W. Emerson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="devonic">
<B>Devonic, </B>adjective. <B>=Devonian.</B></DL>
<A NAME="devonshirecream">
<B>Devonshire cream,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very thick, rich cream; clotted cream. </DL>
<A NAME="devot">
<B>devot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) a male devotee. </DL>
