Deficit—dĕf´i-sit, not de-fī´sit nor de-fĭs´sit. A deficiency.
Delusion, not illusion, when deception occurs from want of knowledge of the world, ignorance of business or trade, or from lack of acumen generally. Illusions are deceptions arising from a temporarily or permanently disordered imagination, or from phenomena occurring in nature: thus we speak of the illusions of fancy, of dreams, and of optical illusions. The mirage of the desert and the fata Morgana are instances of the latter.
Demonstrative—de-mŏn´stra-tive, not dĕm´on-strā-tive.
Demonstrator—dĕm´on-strā-tor, not de-mŏn´strā-tor. Worcester allows the latter.
Depot—de-pō´ or dē´pō, not dā´pō, nor dĕp´po. Worcester sanctions de-pō´ only. I once had a friend, deceased now, of course, who called it de-pŏt´.
Dereliction—der-e-lĭk´shun, not dĕr-e-lĕk´shun. A forsaking, abandonment.
Deshabille—dĕs-a-bĭl´, } Dishabille—dĭs-a-bĭl´, } not dĕs´ha-beel nor dĭs´ha-beel. The French is déshabillé, pronounced about like dā-zä-be-yā, without any particular accent. Some persons, in their vain efforts to get the peculiar liquid sound of the double l, sometimes used, distort the word terribly, pronouncing it even as broad as dĭs-ha-beel´yuh.
Desideratum—de-sid-e-rā´tum, not de-sĭd-er-ăt´um; plural, de-sĭd-er-ā´ta. Something particularly desired.
Desperado—des-per-ā´do, not des-per-ä´do.
Dessert—dĕz-zërt´, not dĕz´zert, nor dĕs´sert: dessert-spoon (dez-zërt´-spoon).