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99 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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prose |
the ordinary language people use in speaking or writing |
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pecuniary |
monetary: of or relating to money, financial |
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insular |
-of, relating to, or forming an island
-dwelling or situated on an island
-being narrow-minded/having or reflecting a narrow provincial viewpoint
(can be used both figuratively and literally) |
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specious |
seeming to be genuine, correct, or beautiful but not really so
(deceitful, false, misleading) |
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salient |
-jutting forward beyond a line (prominent)
-a projecting part in a line of defense
(can be used both figuratively and literally) |
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extemporaneous |
not planned beforehand
(impromptu, unprepared, informal, offhand) |
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prosaic |
-lacking imagination or excitement: dull
-of the kind to be expected in the normal order of events: everyday
(average, common, usual, unremarkable) |
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temerity |
rash or presumptuous: daring
(audacity, effrontery, brazenness, nerve, bold) |
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convivial |
enjoying companionship & the pleasures of feasting and drinking
(friendly, boon, sociable, lively, cordial) |
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postulate |
-to assume as true
-a proposition taken for granted as true esp. as a basis for a chain of reasoning
(presume, assume OR presumption, assumption) |
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omniscient |
having infinite awareness, understanding, understanding, and insight |
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prescient |
having prescience: foresight, foreknowledge, concerns/preparation for future |
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dichotomy |
a division/process of dividing into two, esp. mutually exclusive or contradictory, groups |
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expound |
to explain by setting forth in careful & often elaborate detail
(explain, interpret, state, clarify, clear-up) |
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denouement |
the final outcome of the dramatic complications in a literary work
(solution, conclusion...) |
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artifice |
-clever or artful skill: cleverness, adroitness
-an ingenious device
-an artful stratagem: trick, gimmick
-false or insincere behavior: deceit, crookedness |
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banal |
lacking originality, freshness, or novelty
(commonplace, trite, stale, stereotyped) |
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surfeit |
-an overabundant supply: excess, surplus
-excessive indulgence in food/drink: gorge, stuff
-disgust caused by excess
-to feed, supply, or indulge to the point of surfeit |
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ad hoc |
-for the case at hand apart from other applications
-concerned with or formed for a particular purpose |
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facile |
-easily accomplished, handled, or attained
-simplistic
-readily manifested and often insincere
-ready, fluent
(easy, effortless, fluent, light, ready, simple) |
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efficacy |
the power to produce an effect
(capability, effectiveness, productiveness) |
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pedagogy |
the art or profession of teaching: education |
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inculcated |
to teach & impress by frequent repititions or admonitions
(infuse, ingrain, imbue) |
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parsimonious |
exhibiting or marked by parsimony (extreme or excessive frugality)
(cheap, stingy, uncharitable) |
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hegemonic |
ruling or dominant in a political or social context |
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disparate |
distinct in quality or character
(distinct, diverse, different, distinguishable) |
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obsequious |
humbly or excessively attentive (as to a person in authority)
(fawning, sycophantic) |
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evanescent |
tending to vanish like vapor
(momentary, fleeting, impermanent, transient) |
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dictum |
a noteworthy, formal, or authoritative statement or observation
(declaration, edict, proverb) |
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bellicose |
favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars
(warlike, pugnacious, aggressive, belligerent) |
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bravado |
-blustering swaggering conduct
-a show of bravery |
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erudite |
possessing or displaying erudition (extensive knowledge acquired chiefly from books)
(educated, knowledgable, scholarly, bookish, learned) |
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bombastic |
marked by or given to bombast (pretentious wordy speech or writing)
(grandiloquent, windy, oratorical or rhetorical) |
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odious |
causing or deserving hatred or repugnance
(appalling, awful, distasteful, nauseating, obnoxious, offensive, repellent, repulsive, revolting) |
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instantiate |
to represent (an abstraction) by a concrete example |
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rusticate |
to go into or reside in the country |
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ethos |
the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution |
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pathos |
an element in experience or artistic representation evoking pity or compassion |
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raze |
-to scrape, cut, or shave off
-to destroy to the ground: demolish |
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evocative |
bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind; raising or eliciting |
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discourse |
-verbal interchange of ideas
-formal & usually extended expression of thought on a subject
-to express oneself in esp. oral discourse: talk or converse
(conversation, dialogue, discussion, exchange, declaim, descant, lecture, orate, speak, talk) |
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fiduciary |
-involving a confidence or trust
-held or holding in trust for another |
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articulate |
-divided into meaningful parts: intelligent
-able to speak; expressing oneself readily & effectively
-jointed OR to unite by or as if by joints
-to give clear & effective utterance to
-to utter distinctly
(eloquent, fluent, well-spoken, facile, express, formulate, phrase, say, state, word) |
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pertinent |
relating to the matter under consideration
(applicable, apposite, apropos, material, pointed, relative, relevant, apt, fitting, suitable, sensible, useful, admissible) |
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methodical |
-arranged, characterized by, or performed with method or order
-habitually proceeding according to method
(orderly, regular, systematic, standardized, accurate, exact, precise, detailed, specific) |
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haphazard |
-change
-marked by lack of plan or order
(aimless, arbitrary, erratic, random, scattered, stray) |
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ruminate |
-to engage in contemplation: to spend time in thought on
-to chew the cud
(consider, contemplate, debate, deliberate, meditate, mull, ponder, question, study, think, weigh) |
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machination |
an act of planning esp. to do harm: plot
(conspiracy, design, intrigue, plot, scheme) |
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persnickety |
fussy about small details |
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livery |
uniform or distinctive dress |
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cleaving |
-to divide by force
-to split or separate
-to adhere, closely or firmly
(adhere, cling, divide, split...) |
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pernicious |
very destructive, harmful, or injurious
(adverse, bad, damaging, deleterious, detrimental, evil) |
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pent-up |
confined or stored up emotion or action
(shut up, confined) |
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yonder |
distant or being at or to "that place" |
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sanctimonious |
-hypocritically pious or religious
-derisive in faith or matters pertaining to God or scriptures |
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tendentious |
biased or from one particular viewpoint or belief |
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tangential |
touching lightly or at one particular point as in one common thing between two things
(tangent, incidental) |
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mercurial |
fickle, ever-changing, or unpredictable
(capricious, changeable, inconstant) |
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redundancy |
repeating or exceeding what is needed (as in too many words)
(circumlocution, prolixity, superfluity, verbiage, wordiness) |
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contiguous |
touching, being in contact
(adjoining, adjacent) |
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repine |
-express dejection or discontent
-longing for something
(complain, covet, desire, ache for, long for, lust, want, yearn for) |
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spurious |
not real or genuine: false
(affected, artificial, contrived, fake, feigned, mock, phony, unnatural) |
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sundry |
several, many or diverse, various or variety |
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unwitting |
-not knowing or unaware: ignorant, oblivious
-not intended: accidental, chance, unintentional |
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polemic |
the art or practice of disputing something |
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magnanimous |
showing signs of a lofty spirit/disposition
(chivalrous, gallant, greathearted, high, lofty, noble) |
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disconsolate |
cheerless, hopelessly sad/brokenhearted
(despondent, forlorn, heartsick, miserable) |
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pugnacious |
inclined or predisposed to fighting or battle
(aggressive, argumentative, bellicose, belligerent, quarrelsome, combative, disputatious) |
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punitive |
inflicting or aiming towards punishment
(corrective, disciplinary, penal, vengeful, retaliatory, wrathful) |
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contentious |
argumentative or tendency to quarrel
(disputatious, quarrelsome) |
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opine |
to express an opinion
(comment, note, remark) |
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disingenuous |
-not real or genuine
-false & lacking in honesty
-giving a false appearance of simple frankness |
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flagitious |
grossly wicked, villainous, or evil |
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recompense |
-payback, payment for something done
-return a favor or something done to someone
(pay off, compensate, remunerate OR compensation, payment, remuneration) |
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sacrosanct |
-the most holy or revered
-beyond criticism; treated as if holy
(blessed, holy, sacred, sanctified) |
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restive |
-stubbornly resistent to control: balky
-uneasy or impatient |
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traipse |
to walk aimlessly/wander without a plan or purpose
(gallivant, meander, mope, ramble, roam) |
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usurp |
to seize or hold by force; to upstage
(arrogate, commandeer, preempt) |
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woeful |
-beset by grief or woe
-regrettable or full of sadness
(anguished, lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sad, sorrowful OR deplorable, distressful, grievous, heartbreaking, unfortunate) |
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subliminal |
-below the level of consciousness
-existing in one's mind without their being aware of it
(subconscious, unconscious, hidden, concealed) |
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vacuous |
having/showing a lack of thought or intelligence: mindless |
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palmistry |
the practice of telling one's future or character by the reading of a person's palms
(fortune-telling, palm-reading, clairvoyance, chiromancy) |
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cogent |
having the power to compel or convince
(convincing, decisive, compelling) |
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binary |
consisting of 2 things or 2 parts to make a whole |
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duplicity |
disguising true intentions by using deceptive actions or words
(deceitful, dishonest) |
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loiter |
to travel, stand, or wait idly or intermittently
(linger, dawdle, stroll, amble, saunter, meander, drift, dilly-dally, mosey) |
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truncate |
to shorten or blunt the end of something
(abbreviate, condense, reduce, prune) |
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maraud |
to wander around trying to plunder & pilage |
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jocular |
marked by humor or jesting/telling a joke
(humorous, funny, witty, comical, amusing, hilarious) |
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slubber |
to perform hastily or without care
(careless, slovenly, hurried) |
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clowder |
a group or cluster of cats |
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comeuppance |
unpleasant & justly deserved reward for bad behavior/a deserved rebuke or penalty |
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oeuvre |
the works of a writer or painter; a body of work |
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cloister |
a place of solitude or confinement; a quiet place |
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hoyden |
a boisterous, bold, or carefree girl ~ like a tomboy |
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pusillanimous |
lacking courage or conviction: cowardly |
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baleful |
full of menace, pernicious, wretched, miserable |
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credulous |
inclined/ready/tendency to believe someone or something even with slight evidence |
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officious |
assertive of authority in an offensive or domineering way |
