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51 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
abscond (v.)
The salesman had absconded with their money and never recorded the deeds |
to steal off and hide
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ameliorate (v.)
To ameliorate the hazard, some turbines are painted black to absorb sunlight and melt the ice faste |
to make better
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austere (adj.)
Decades ago a public library was an austere place, about as lively as a cemetery. |
very plain
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axiom (n.)
Central to "being French" is the republican axiom that all citizens are free and equal. |
universally recognized principle
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bucolic (adj.)
Summer turns to winter in this rhyming counting book, whose bucolic illustrations have a pleasingly old-fashioned look and feel. |
rustic and pastoral
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disabuse (v.)
If you ever have the tendency to think that the camera makes the photographer, he will quickly disabuse you of that notion. |
to set right; to free from deception or error; to undeceive
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effrontery (n.)
He has the sheer effrontery of a movie star. |
extreme boldness
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ephemeral (adj.)
Capturing those ephemeral images has been a challenge to generations of artists. |
brief; lasting a short time
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extemporaneous (adj.)
Then the President introduced an extemporaneous paragraph into his prepared text. |
improvised
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fulminate (v.)
Politicians fulminate about double standards and anti-Semitism. |
to loudly attack
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hyperbole (n.)
If you want to get your point across, stop using infantile hyperbole and stick to the facts. |
exaggerated statement
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oscillation (n.)
Remember that fluid mechanics is a useful model for explaining sustained vocal fold oscillation, however the process is nonlinear. |
steady rhythm
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penurious (adj.)
Blessed are the penurious, for they are able to help themselves. |
penny pinching
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perfidy (n.)
After this act of perfidy, the negroes attempted to escape in the confusion that followed. |
intentional treachery
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pernicious (adj.)
Now the focus is on inequality itself, and its supposedly pernicious consequences |
extremely harmful
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perspicacious (adj.)
He was perspicacious and honest enough to acknowledge to himself the danger of such a stand. |
acutely perceptive
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pious (adj.)
But they say they are pious men, with sins to atone for, and he accepts their offer. |
extremely religiously devoted
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precipitate (adj.)/(v.)
1) By contrast with the physics prize, the award for chemistry is positively precipitate. 2) Fears that this is going to precipitate a crisis seem overblown |
1) acting c excessive haste/impulse
2) to cause/happen before anticipated/required |
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predilection (n.)
The aristocracy are marked by their predilection for country-life. |
disposition in favor of something
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prolific (adj.)
Zebra mussels are prolific breeders and can live for several days out of water. |
producting large amounts
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reticent (adj.)
Yet public policy makers are slow or reticent to create policies that reduce or eliminate smoking in public places. |
quiet & reserved
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sordid (adj.)
Its free press makes the sordid details available to everybody. |
characterized by filth
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squalid (adj.)
The urban poor often lived and worked in squalid and dangerous conditions. |
wretched & dirty
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squander (v.)
And many people will squander valuable time to get something free. |
to use irresponsibly
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torpid (adj.)
Animals were found to be quite torpid but capable of swimming. |
lethargic
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ubiquitous (adj.)
Citrus is so ubiquitous in the market these days, the peak seasons of the various fruits tend to be forgotten. |
existing everywhere at the same time
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veracity (n.)
The fact that he did not recognize the danger he was in makes me doubt his veracity and intelligence, if not his integrity. |
honesty
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vilify (v.)
The statements did not criticize the defendant's demeanor nor attempt to vilify him in any way |
to defame
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virulent (adj).
Spring water can be virulent, so boil all water before drinking. |
extremely harmful
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convoluted (adj.)
Two gunmen chase after an anthropologist on the run in this convoluted, low-budget drama. |
complex/complicated
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culpable (adj.)
Attorney found culpable of professional misconduct, but no period of suspension imposed. |
deserving blame
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eclectic (adj.)
We sit in the small living room, its furniture antique and eclectic. |
composed of various elements
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erudite (adj.)
Such profound questions are often asked, but too often are followed by erudite answers from someone who claims to know. |
scholarly; learned
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eulogy (n.)
It was a eulogy to a headmaster and was pretty glowing. |
a speeching honouring the dead
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facetious (adj.)
Respondent testified that he found this repeated phrase irritating and facetious. |
playful; humorous
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lucid (adj.)
The moonlight, which seems so lucid and brilliant when you look up, is all pearl and smoke round the pond and the hills. |
clear; easily understood
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paean (n.)
At heart this romantic, melancholy tale is a paean to reading and to the life one person lives through books. |
song/hymn of praise and thanks
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precursor (n.)
Mild cognitive impairment is thought to be a precursor for Alzheimer's. |
one that precedes and indicates/announces another
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qualms (n.)
Every one of those animals is a nasty creature with no qualms about killing humans. |
misgivings; reservation
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quiescence (n.)
Geysers go through periods of activity and quiescence. |
stillness; motionlessness
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recant (v.)
Many detainees were required to recant their religious beliefs as a precondition of release. |
to retract (a belief)
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redoubtable (adj.)
The finished product can stand a redoubtable five feet tall and measure the same or more in diameter. |
honourable; formidable
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satire (n.)
Parody would be a first cousin, a satire on an actual work of art. |
literary work which ridicules/criticizes
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stoic (adj.)
Judges are meant to be stoic in the eyes of a case. |
indifferent/unaffected by pleasure/pain
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stymie (v.)
Failure on one could stymie advancement on the others. |
to block/thwart
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supplant (v.)
The extent to which unmanned aircraft could or should supplant piloted ones will be debated for decades. |
to take place of; supersede
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synthesis (n.)
The code directs one of several steps in the synthesis of proteins inside cells, the basic process of life. |
the combination of parts to make a whole
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ascetic (n.)
He renounced his kingdom and embraced instead the path of the ascetic. |
a person who engages in rigid self-denial
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arduous (adj.)
Their work is always arduous, often heroic and sometimes dangerous. |
difficult; requiring great exertion.
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Canonical (adj.)
The researchers acknowledged that biologists had not been crying out for a canonical definition of the term. |
following in agreement with; conforming; recognized.
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Contentious (adj.)
Building new motorways is almost as contentious as putting new roads through urban areas. |
leading to an argument; controversial; quarrelsome
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