
Deleterious — harmful, damaging
Desiccate — to dry out completely
Didactic — intended to teach or instruct
Diffident — modest, shy, lacking confidence
Dirge — a funeral song or mournful composition
Disabuse — to free someone from a misconception
Discordant — disagreeing, conflicting, harsh-sounding
Disparage — to belittle, speak of with contempt
Disseminate — to spread widely
Dogmatic — asserting opinions as fact, inflexible
Synonym clusters: The GRE loves testing words in pairs. Disparage/denigrate/belittle all mean to put down. Dogmatic/doctrinaire/imperious all suggest rigid authority. Recognizing these clusters helps on Sentence Equivalence.
Reference:
TaskLoco™ — The Sticky Note GOAT