2 N‑UNCOUNT [usu n N ] If you talk about drug dependence or alcohol dependence , you are referring to a situation where someone is addicted to drugs or is an alcoholic.
3 N‑UNCOUNT You talk about the dependence of one thing on another when the first thing will be affected or determined by the second. □ …the dependence of circulation on production.
de|pend|en|cy /d I pe ndənsi/ (dependencies )
1 N‑COUNT A dependency is a country which is controlled by another country.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You talk about someone's dependency when they have a deep emotional, physical, or financial need for a particular person or thing, especially one that you consider excessive or undesirable. □ [+ on ] We worried about his dependency on his mother.
3 N‑VAR [usu n N ] If you talk about alcohol dependency or chemical dependency , you are referring to a situation where someone is an alcoholic or is addicted to drugs. [mainly AM ] □ The medicine may also create chemical dependency.
de|pend|ent /d I pe ndənt/
1 ADJ To be dependent on something or someone means to need them in order to succeed or be able to survive. □ [+ on/upon ] The local economy is overwhelmingly dependent on oil and gas extraction.
2 ADJ If one thing is dependent on another, the first thing will be affected or determined by the second. □ [+ on/upon ] The treatment of infertility is largely dependent on the ability of couples to pay.
3 → see also dependant
de|per|son|al|ize /diː pɜː r sənəla I z/ (depersonalizes , depersonalizing , depersonalized ) in BRIT, also use depersonalise 1 VERB To depersonalize a system or a situation means to treat it as if it did not really involve people, or to treat it as if the people involved were not really important. □ [V n] It is true that modern weaponry depersonalised war.
2 VERB To depersonalize someone means to treat them as if they do not matter because their individual feelings and thoughts are not important. □ [V n] She does not feel that the book depersonalises women.
de|pict /d I p I kt/ (depicts , depicting , depicted )
1 VERB To depict someone or something means to show or represent them in a work of art such as a drawing or painting. □ [V n] …a gallery of pictures depicting Nelson's most famous battles.
2 VERB To depict someone or something means to describe them or give an impression of them in writing. □ [V n] Margaret Atwood's novel depicts a gloomy, futuristic America. □ [V n + as ] Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle, lovable creatures.
de|pic|tion /d I p I kʃ ə n/ (depictions ) N‑VAR A depiction of something is a picture or a written description of it.
de|pila|tory /d I p I lətəri, [AM ] -tɔːri/ (depilatories )
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Depilatory substances and processes remove unwanted hair from your body. □ …a depilatory cream.
2 N‑COUNT A depilatory is a depilatory substance.
de|plete /d I pliː t/ (depletes , depleting , depleted ) VERB To deplete a stock or amount of something means to reduce it. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] …substances that deplete the ozone layer. ● de|plet|ed ADJ □ …Robert E. Lee's worn and depleted army. ● de|ple|tion /d I pliː ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ …the depletion of underground water supplies.
de|ple t|ed ura |nium N‑UNCOUNT Depleted uranium is a type of uranium that is used in some bombs.
de|plor|able /d I plɔː rəb ə l/ ADJ If you say that something is deplorable , you think that it is very bad and unacceptable. [FORMAL ] □ Many of them live under deplorable conditions. ● de|plor|ably ADV [ADV after v, ADV adj] □ The reporters behaved deplorably.
de|plore /d I plɔː r / (deplores , deploring , deplored ) VERB If you say that you deplore something, you think it is very wrong or immoral. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] He deplored the fact that the Foreign Secretary was driven into resignation.
de|ploy /d I plɔ I / (deploys , deploying , deployed )
1 VERB To deploy troops, weapons, or resources means to means to make them ready to be used. □ [V n] The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.
2 VERB If you deploy something or if it deploys , you use it effectively or it works effectively. □ [V ] Airbags deploy with such force they could easily injure a small child. [Also V n]
de|ploy|ment /d I plɔ I mənt/ (deployments ) N‑VAR The deployment of troops, resources, or equipment is the organization and positioning of them so that they are ready for quick action. □ [+ of ] …the deployment of troops into townships.
de|popu|late /diː pɒ pjʊle I t/ (depopulates , depopulating , depopulated ) VERB To depopulate an area means to greatly reduce the number of people living there. □ [V n] The famine threatened to depopulate the continent. ● de|popu|lat|ed ADJ □ …a small, rural, and depopulated part of the south-west. ● de|popu|la|tion /diː pɒ pjʊle I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ …rural depopulation.
de|port /d I pɔː r t/ (deports , deporting , deported ) VERB If a government deports someone, usually someone who is not a citizen of that country, it sends them out of the country because they have committed a crime or because it believes they do not have the right to be there. □ [V n] …a government decision earlier this month to deport all illegal immigrants. [Also V n from/to n] ● de|por|ta|tion /diː pɔː r te I ʃ ə n/ (deportations ) N‑VAR □ …thousands of migrants facing deportation.