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The act of deprecating; a praying against evil; prayer that an evil may be removed or prevented; strong expression of disapprobation. Humble deprecation. Milton.

Lying flat; -- said of a stem or leaf which lies close to the ground.

Purifying the blood or the humors; depuratory. -- n.

A suffix or terminal formative, much used in anatomical terms, and signifying skin, integument, covering; as, blastoderm, ectoderm, etc.

A kind of short-barreled pocket pistol, of very large caliber, often carrying a half-ounce ball.

ch one should stay by and support); to leave in the lurch; to abandon; to forsake; -- implying blame, except sometimes when used of localities; as, to desert a friend, a principle, a cause, one's country. "The deserted fortress." Prescott.

Drying; desiccative. -- n.

To dry up; to deprive or exhaust of moisture; to preserve by drying; as, to desiccate fish or fruit. Bodies desiccated by heat or age. Bacon.

Drying; tending to dry. Ferrand. -- n. (Med.)

The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. Unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Dan. ix. 26.

The act of destroying; a tearing down; a bringing to naught; subversion; demolition; ruin; slaying; devastation. The Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction. Esth. ix. 5. 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. Shak. Destruction…

One who delights in destroying that which is valuable; one whose principles and influence tend to destroy existing institutions; a destructive.

The quality of destroying or ruining. Prynne.

The act of detecting; the laying open what was concealed or hidden; discovery; as, the detection of a thief; the detection of fraud, forgery, or a plot. Such secrets of guilt are never from detection. D. Webster.

The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste. Even now the devastation is begun, And half the business of destruction done. Goldsmith.

Out of a straight line; winding; varying from directness; as, a devious path or way.

A will or testament, conveying real estate; the clause of a will making a gift of real property. Fines upon devises were still exacted. Bancroft.

The act or process of devitrifying, or the state of being devitrified. Specifically, the conversion of molten glassy matter into a stony mass by slow cooling, the result being the formation of crystallites, microbites, etc., in the glassy base, which are then called devitrification products.

A prefix, signifying twofold, double, twice; (Chem.)

A method of surveying, especially in mines, in which the bearings of the courses, or the angles which they make with each other, are determined by means of the circumferentor.