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Glossary · Nouns · D

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TermTypeDefinitionClassificationsUpdated
Descriptive ClausenounMWEa subordinate clause that does not limit or restrict the meaning of the noun phrase it modifiesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Descriptive GeometrynounMWEthe geometry of properties that remain invariant under projectionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Descriptive GrammarnounMWEa grammar that is produced by descriptive linguisticsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Descriptive LinguisticsnounMWEa description (at a given point in time) of a language with respect to its phonology and morphology and syntax and semantics without value judgmentsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Descriptive Top-Level SpecificationnounMWEA natural language descriptive of a system’s security requirements, an informal design notation, or a combination of the two.RequirementRegulatedCUIAug 30, 2026
Descriptivismnoun(linguistics) a doctrine supporting or promoting descriptive linguisticsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Descriptornounthe phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify somethingverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desecrationnounblasphemous behaviorverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desegregationnounthe action of incorporating a racial or religious group into a communityverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desensitisationnounthe process of reducing sensitivityverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desensitisation ProcedurenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desensitisation TechniquenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desensitizationnounthe process of reducing sensitivityverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desensitization ProcedurenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desensitization TechniquenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert BootnounMWEa boot reaching halfway up to the kneeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert Four O'clocknounMWEwildflower having vibrant deep pink tubular evening-blooming flowersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert HollynounMWEhandsome low saltbush of arid southwestern United States and Mexico having blue-green prickly-edged leaves often used for Christmas decorationverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert IguananounMWEsmall long-tailed lizard of arid areas of southwestern United States and northwestern MexicoverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert LynxnounMWEof deserts of northern Africa and southern AsiaverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert Mariposa TulipnounMWEmariposa with clusters of bell-shaped vermilion or orange or yellow flowers atop short stemsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert OlivenounMWEspiny branching deciduous shrub of southwestern United States having clusters of insignificant yellow-white flowers appearing before leaves followed by attractive black berrylike fruitsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert PeanounMWEsprawling shrubby perennial noted for its scarlet black-marked flowersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert PlantnounMWEplant adapted for life with a limited supply of waterverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert PlumenounMWEperennial of southwestern United States having leathery blue-green pinnatifid leaves and thick plumelike spikes of yellow flowersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert RatnounMWEany of various leaping rodents of desert regions of North America and MexicoverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert RheumatismnounMWEan infection of the lungs and skin characterized by excessive sputum and nodulesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert RosenounMWESouth African shrub having a swollen succulent stem and bearing showy pink and white flowers after the leaves fallverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert Sand VerbenanounMWEsoft-haired sticky plant with heads of bright pink trumpet-shaped flowersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert SelaginellanounMWEprostrate spikemossverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert SoilnounMWEa type of soil that develops in arid climatesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert SunflowernounMWEslender hairy plant with few leaves and golden-yellow flower headsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert TortoisenounMWEburrowing tortoise of the arid western United States and northern MexicoverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desert WillownounMWEevergreen shrubby tree resembling a willow of dry regions of southwestern North America having showy purplish flowers and long seed podsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Deserternouna disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.verifiedMay 18, 2026
Desertic SoilnounMWEa type of soil that develops in arid climatesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desertificationnounthe gradual transformation of habitable land into desertverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desertionnounwithdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibilityverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desertsnounan outcome (good or bad) that is well deservedverifiedMay 18, 2026
Deservingnessnounthe quality of being deserving verifiedMay 18, 2026
Deshabillenounthe state of being carelessly or partially dressedverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desiccantnouna substance that promotes drying (e.g., calcium oxide absorbs water and is used to remove moisture)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Desiccationnoundryness resulting from the removal of waterverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desideratumnounsomething desired as a necessityverifiedMay 18, 2026
Design CriterianounMWEcriteria that designers should meet in designing some system or deviceverifiedMay 18, 2026
Designated Approval AuthoritynounMWEOfficial with the authority to formally assume responsibility for operating a system at an acceptable level of risk. This term is synonymous with authorizing official, designated accrediting authority, and delegated accrediting authority.RoleMay 9, 2026
Designated DrivernounMWEthe member of a party who is designated to refrain from alcohol and so is sober when it is time to drive homeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Designated HitternounMWEa ballplayer who is designated to bat in place of the pitcherverifiedMay 18, 2026
designated personnelnounMWEA collective noun for individuals or job roles within an organization that have been formally assigned—by policy, regulation, or organizational decision—specific security, privacy, or compliance responsibilities, and to whom corresponding obligations (such as receiving policy disseminations, executing controls, or leading incident response) are explicitly directed. Authority documents such as the DHS 4300A Sensitive Systems policy use the expression to introduce the roster of roles that "play a major role in the planning and implementation of information security requirements," while NIST SP 800-53 control language recurrently names "organization-defined personnel or roles" as the recipients of policy documents and procedural dissemination. Across frameworks the expression functions as a placeholder that an organization fills in during tailoring—naming the CISOs, privacy officers, system owners, or other accountable parties—rather than denoting a single fixed role; the underlying concept is that clearly assigning security responsibility to specific individuals or roles ensures accountability and helps prevent lapses in security management.GroupInternalAug 30, 2026
designated policy enforcement pointnounMWEAn architecturally assigned location — a specific node, mechanism, or boundary control — that an organization has formally chosen to serve as the place where information-flow or access-control policies are actively applied, typically at the juncture between systems of differing security domains or trust levels. The modifier *designated* signals intentional placement by policy decision rather than incidental occurrence: the organization has determined which points in its architecture carry the responsibility of checking and enforcing rules before data or transactions are allowed to cross a boundary. In practice the phrase appears in control language (e.g., when transferring information between systems representing different security domains with different security policies, information owners/stewards provide guidance at these designated locations between interconnected systems) to convey that enforcement is neither ad hoc nor emergent but is a deliberate architectural commitment. The whole phrase is therefore a compositional description — "designated" is an ordinary adjective modifying the well-defined technical noun phrase "policy enforcement point" — rather than an independentlyControlAug 30, 2026
designated sourcenounMWEAn endpoint — a network, individual, or device — that has been explicitly authorized and named in an information flow control policy as a permitted origin of information movement within or between systems, distinct from *who* may access the information. Flow control policies operate on the characteristics of the information or the information path, and enforcement is carried out in boundary protection devices such as firewalls, routers, and gateways that apply rule sets or packet- and message-filtering capabilities. In practice, organizations use information flow control policies and enforcement mechanisms to govern the movement of sensitive data (e.g., CUI) between designated sources and destinations, regulating *where* information may travel rather than merely *who* may see it. The expression is strictly paired — a source has meaning only relative to a corresponding destination — and the "designated" qualifier signals that the endpoint has been deliberately enumerated in policy, not simply inferred at runtime.NetworkRegulatedCUIAug 30, 2026
Designationnounidentifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from othersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Designatumnounsomething (whether existing or not) that is referred to by a linguistic expressionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Designernouna person who specializes in designing architectural interiors and their furnishingsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Designer DrugnounMWEa psychoactive drug deliberately synthesized to avoid anti-drug lawsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desipraminenouna tricyclic antidepressant drug that activates the psychomotor systemverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desirabilitynounthe quality of being worthy of desiringverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desirablenessnounthe quality of being worthy of desiringverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desire to KnownounMWEcuriosity that motivates investigation and studyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desknouna piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartmentsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desk ClerknounMWEa hotel receptionistverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desk DictionarynounMWEan abridged dictionary of a size convenient to hold in the handverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desk OfficernounMWEa military officer who is not assigned to active dutyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desk PhonenounMWEa telephone set that sits on a desk or tableverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desk SergeantnounMWEthe police sergeant on duty in a police stationverifiedMay 18, 2026
Deskmannounthe police sergeant on duty in a police stationverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desktopnoun(computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appearverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desktop ComputernounMWEa personal computer small enough to fit conveniently in an individual workspaceverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desktop PublishingnounMWE(computer science) the use of microcomputers with graphics capacity to produce printed materialsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desmidnounfreshwater green algaeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desolationnounsadness resulting from being forsaken or abandonedverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desorptionnounchanging from an adsorbed state on a surface to a gaseous or liquid stateverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desoxyribonucleic AcidnounMWE(biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helixverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desperadonouna bold outlaw (especially on the American frontier)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Desperate CriminalnounMWEa bold outlaw (especially on the American frontier)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Desperate MeasurenounMWEdesperate actions taken as a means to an endverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desperate StraitsnounMWEa state of extreme distressverifiedMay 18, 2026
Desperationnouna state in which all hope is lost or absentverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despicabilitynoununworthiness by virtue of lacking higher valuesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despicablenessnoununworthiness by virtue of lacking higher valuesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despisalnouna feeling of scornful hatredverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despisingnouna feeling of scornful hatredverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despitenounlack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislikeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despoilationnounthe act of stripping and taking by forceverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despoilernounsomeone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Despoilmentnounthe act of stripping and taking by forceverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despoliationnounthe act of stripping and taking by forceverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despondencenounfeeling downcast and disheartened and hopelessverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despondencynounfeeling downcast and disheartened and hopelessverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despotnouna cruel and oppressive dictatorverifiedMay 18, 2026
Despotismnouna form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Desquamationnounloss of bits of outer skin by peeling or shedding or coming off in scalesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Dessertnouna dish served as the last course of a mealverifiedMay 18, 2026
Dessert ApplenounMWEan apple used primarily for eating raw without cookingverifiedMay 18, 2026
Dessert PlatenounMWEa small plate on which dessert can be servedverifiedMay 18, 2026
Dessert SpoonnounMWEa spoon larger than a teaspoon and smaller than a tablespoonverifiedMay 18, 2026
Dessert WinenounMWEstill sweet wine often served with dessert or after a mealverifiedMay 18, 2026
Dessertspoonfulnounas much as a dessert spoon will holdverifiedMay 18, 2026
Dessiatinenouna former Russian unit of area equal to 2.7 acresverifiedMay 18, 2026
Destabilisationnounthe action of destabilizingverifiedMay 18, 2026