1. Do or make the opposite of; reverse: decriminalize.
2. Remove or remove from: delouse; deoxygenate.
3. Out of: deplane; defenestration.
4. Reduce; degrade: declass.
5. Derived from: deverbative.

[Middle English de-, from Old French de- (from Latin dē-, from, off, apart, away, down, out, completely , from dē) or from Old French des-, out, off, apart, away, completely (from Latin dis-, dis- , and Latin dē-).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.