deject
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
verb
adjective
Etymology
Origin of deject
1375–1425; late Middle English dejecten (v.) < Latin dējectus (past participle of dējicere to throw down), equivalent to dē- de- + -jec-, combining form of jacere to throw + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
To deject is to make someone feel really, really sad. Few things will deject you more than losing your very favorite scarf — the one your grandmother knit — on the subway. This verb is rarely used these days, so you're most likely to find it in an old book— the adjective dejected is much more common. Both words come from the earlier verb dejecten, "to throw or cast down," from the Latin deicere, "to cast down, destroy, or defeat." The more figurative "make sad" meaning appeared around 1500. If you really want to deject someone, play them some melancholy music when they're already sad about their lost cat.
Vocabulary lists containing deject
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Deject, de-jekt′, v.t. to cast down the countenance or spirits of.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Low, reverently low, Make thy stubborn knowledge bow, Weep out thy reason's and thy body's eyes, Deject thyself, that thou mayest rise, To look to heaven—be blind to all below.
From The Knight of the Golden Melice A Historical Romance by Adams, John Turvill
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
