33 Negative Words that Start with D in Spanish

shadow of a woman and text about 33 negative words that start with d in spanish

With Halloween just around the corner, negative words that start with D like diablo, diabólico and demonio are rising from the ashes. 

In this post I will provide a list of 33 negative words that start with D in Spanish. This will help you broaden your vocabulary and improve speech. 

Take into account that most of these cognates belong to a word family. A word family is a group of words that may share a common root word like destrucción, destruído, destruir.

What are negative words that start with D?

The following words tend to have a negative connotation. However, context always matters and some of these could not be as negative as they seem. 

Here are the 33 negative words that start with D in Spanish:

  1. desdicha (misfortune)
  2. desgracia (tragedy)
  3. desinterés (lack of interest)
  4. deformidad (deformity)
  5. demonio (demon)
  6. diablo (devil) 
  7. demencia (madness)
  8. delirio (delirium)
  9. desilusión (disappointment)
  10. decepción (disappointment)
  11. discriminación (discrimination)
  12. detestar (to loath)
  13. dolor (pain)
  14. debilidad (weakness)
  15. desecho (waste)
  16. despecho (spite)
  17. desquiciado (deranged)
  18. discusión (argument)
  19. dilapidar (to squander)
  20. derroche (waste)
  21. desprestigio (discredit)
  22. derrota (defeat)
  23. desencanto (disenchantment)
  24. destrucción (destruction)
  25. desesperación (desperation)
  26. deportación (deportation)
  27. destitución (dismissal)
  28. destripador (ripper)
  29. destierro (exile)
  30. denigración (denigration)
  31. degenerado (degenerate)
  32. desnutrición (malnutrition)
  33. dentista (dentist)

Ok the last one is a joke! “Dentista” is not really a negative word, but for some people it is a nightmare. 

Negative words that start with D to describe someone

Let’s describe one of my favorite villains using some of the words above. I am going to describe Cruella de Vil. 

Cruella de Vil es una mujer demente que detesta los animales. Ella es amante de la moda y derrocha su dinero en exóticos tapados de piel. Cruella está desesperada por hacerse un tapado con piel de perros dálmatas. 

Now it is your turn! Choose from 3 to 5 negative words that start with D and describe your favorite villain in Spanish.

Families of bad words that start with D

As I mentioned before, family words are groups of words that share the same roots. Here are some families of bad words that start with D and their relatively accurate translations.

  • dolor (pain), dolorido (painful), doler (to be in pain)
  • debilidad (weakness), débil (weak), debilitado (weakened)
  • desecho (waste), desechado (wasted), desechable (disposable), desechar (to waste)
  • despecho (spite), despechado (spiteful), despechar (to anger)
  • derroche (waste), derrochado (wasted), derrochar (to waste)
  • derrota (defeat), derrotado (defeated), derrotar (to defeat)
  • destrucción (destruction), destruído (destroyed), destruir (to destroy)
  • desesperación (desperation), desesperado (desperate), desesperar (exasperate)
  • deportación (deportation), deportado (deported), deportar (to deport)
  • destitución (dismissal), destituido (dismissed), destituir (to dismiss)
  • destierro (exile), desterrado (exiled), desterrar (to exile)
  • denigración (denigration), denigrante (denigrating), denigrar (to denigrate)
  • desnutrición (malnutrition), desnutrido (malnourished), desnutrir (be malnourished)

More Spanish negative adjectives that start with D

What are some negative words to describe someone’s bad luck? Desdichado and desgraciado.

Negative adjectives to describe someone insane: demente and delirante. 

Lastly, these two negative words describe someone disappointed: desilusionado and decepcionado.

Conclusion

There are plenty of negative words that start with D in Spanish. You can learn some of these words to describe a person, a misfortune or a scary thing. What are your favorite negative words? Mine is definitely not dentista.  

Describe your favorite villain in Spanish. Leave a comment below. 

For more on Spanish grammar, click here.

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