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of land shaped like the letter delta (as, the delta of the Ganges, of the Nile, or of the Mississippi.

To lead from truth or into error; to mislead the mind or judgment of to beguile; to impose on; to dupe; to make a fool of. To delude the nation by an airy phantom. Burke.

The act of deluding; deception; a misleading of the mind. Pope.

Apt or fitted to delude; tending to mislead the mind; deceptive; beguiling; delusory; as, delusive arts; a delusive dream. Delusive and unsubstantial ideas. Whewell. -- De*lu"sive*ly, adv. -- De*lu"sive*ness, n.

That which deserves blame; ill desert; a fault; a vice; misconduct; -- the opposite of Ant: merit. They see no merit or demerit in any man or any action. Burke. Secure, unless forfeited by any demerit or offense. Sir W. Temple.

Persons of doubtful reputation; esp., women who are kept as mistresses, though not public prostitutes; demireps. Literary demimonde, writers of the lowest kind.

lay, and looked so demure, as if there had been neither life nor soul in her. L'Estrange. Miss Lizzy, I have no doubt, would be as demure and coquettish, as if ten winters more had gone over her head. Miss Mitford.

hand. 2 Tim. iv. 6. His timely departure . . . barred him from the knowledge of his son's miseries. Sir P. Sidney.

To desire; to feel the want of; to lack; to miss; to want. Pray have the goodness to point out one word missing that ought to have been there -- please to insert a desiderated stanza. You can not. Prof. Wilson. Men were beginning . . . to desiderate for them an actual abode of fire. A. W. Ward.

To miss; to regret. [Obs.] She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies. Jer. Taylor.

g to bring about ruin, death, or devastation; ruinous; fatal; productive of serious evil; mischievous; pernicious; -- often with of or to; as, intemperance is destructive of health; evil examples are destructive to the morals of youth. Time's destructive power. Wordsworth. Destructive distillation. See Distillation. -…

Leaping or skipping about. [Obs.] I shot at it [a bird], but it was so desultory that I missed my aim. Gilbert White.

iscover; to find out; to bring to light; as, to detect a crime or a criminal; to detect a mistake in an account. Plain good intention . . . is as easily discovered at the first view, as fraud is surely detected at last. Burke. Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect. Pope…

A turning; a circuitous route; a deviation from a direct course; as, the detours of the Mississippi.

That which injures or causes damage; mischief; harm; diminution; loss; damage; -- used very generically; as, detriments to property, religion, morals, etc. I can repair That detriment, if such it be. Milton.

Waste or misapplication of the assets of a deceased person by an executor or an administrator. Bouvier.

Diabolical conduct; malignant mischief; devilry. C. Reade.

Pertaining to dew; resembling, consisting of, or moist with, dew. A dewy mist Went and watered all the ground. Milton. When dewy eve her curtain draws. Keble.

Devilry; sorcery or incantation; a diabolical deed; mischief.

ans isolated from their own communion, as among the Moravians to those living, usually as missionaries, outside of the parent congregation.