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:
- desdicha (misfortune)
- desgracia (tragedy)
- desinterés (lack of interest)
- deformidad (deformity)
- demonio (demon)
- diablo (devil)
- demencia (madness)
- delirio (delirium)
- desilusión (disappointment)
- decepción (disappointment)
- discriminación (discrimination)
- detestar (to loath)
- dolor (pain)
- debilidad (weakness)
- desecho (waste)
- despecho (spite)
- desquiciado (deranged)
- discusión (argument)
- dilapidar (to squander)
- derroche (waste)
- desprestigio (discredit)
- derrota (defeat)
- desencanto (disenchantment)
- destrucción (destruction)
- desesperación (desperation)
- deportación (deportation)
- destitución (dismissal)
- destripador (ripper)
- destierro (exile)
- denigración (denigration)
- degenerado (degenerate)
- desnutrición (malnutrition)
- 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.
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2 thoughts on “33 Negative Words that Start with D in Spanish”
Super interesante. I haven’t thought about those words starting the same letter.
¡Y hay tantas más! 🙂