Prepositions Part 32
Combinations
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by it stands in regard to something else. There are over 100 prepositions in English. This is a very small number compared with the vast number of nouns, adjectives and verbs found in English. Here are some of the prepositions used in English
Distaste for
A feeling that something or someone is unpleasant or morally offensive.
Emma showed her distaste for any form of compromise.
Distasteful to
Unpleasant or morally offensive.
Any attitude she adopted would have been distasteful to him.
Distinct from
Clearly different or belonging to a different type.
Certain conventions are distinct from the fine art tradition.
Distinction between
A clear difference or separation between two similar things.
There is a distinction between formal and informal English.
Distinguish between
To recognise and understand the difference between two or more things or people.
Lawrence is colour-blind and he cannot distinguish between red and green easily.
Distract from
To take someone’s attention away from something by making them look at or listen to something else.
The new student in the class distracted her from writing the essay.
Distrustful of
Not trusting someone or something.
It saddened her that he was so distrustful of her.
Diverge from
If similar things diverge, they develop in different ways and so are no longer similar.
His views diverged from hers.
Divest of
If a company divests, it sells some of its assets and investments. It also means to give away something you own.
Cathy divested herself of everything valuable.
Divide into
If you divide something, it separates into two or more parts.
Oceans have been divided into zones.
Divorce from
If someone divorces their husband or wife, or if two people divorce, they legally end their marriage.
Her father threatened to divorce his wife.
Dominance over
The fact of being more powerful, more important, or more noticeable than other people or things.
Television’s dominance over other media is quite obvious.
Dominion over
The power or right to rule or control something.
The king held dominance over a vast area.
Donate to
To give something, especially money, to a person or an organisation in order to help them.
Last year the ABC Foundation donated Rs. 100,000 to cancer research.
Doomed to
To make someone or something certain to fail, die or be destroyed.
Many species are doomed to extinction.
Dose of
The amount of a medicine or a drug that you should take.
Never exceed the recommended dose of painkillers.
Dote on
To love someone very much and show this by your actions.
Everyone doted on Susan, the only girl in the family.
Double over
To fold something in half.
Take a sheet of paper and double it over.
Drain off
To make water or a liquid flow off something, leaving it dry.
After cooking the meat, drain off the excess fat.
Drape over
To put something somewhere so that it hangs or lies loosely.
John took off his coat and draped it over a chair.